Blood Warrior
by Melchor
Summary: Itachi dies, but an unforeseen circumstance prevents him from getting his eternal rest.
1. Chapter 1

A brief intro: I have been reading the works from various writers on for some period of time, and I have always wanted to try writing one myself. This idea has been in my head for some time now, and I finally decided to type it out. The inspiration came from various sources. One of them is knightchaser and his powerful portrayal of Itachi in "Itachi: the early years." A second source came from watching the anime of _Princess Resurrection _in which Hime said that she needed more servants. In some random thought process, I thought it might be interesting if she were to gain a servant who is much better at protecting her...and who better, than the perfect shinobi. This is my first attempt at writing, so constructive criticism is most welcome.

A disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Princess Resurrection. They are the property of Kishimoto Masashi and Mitsunaga Yasunori, respectively.

_Italics = thoughts._

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**Uchiha Hideout**

"This will probably be my final jutsu."

While he is still panting, trying to recover from the ongoing fight, Uchiha Itachi looked down. "Remember, the Sharingan can see chakra," he responds. "Drop the act, I know you are out of chakra. The kawarimi you used to dodge my Amaterasu was one of Orochimaru's own…although extremely difficult to detect, it also consumes a large amount of chakra."

"I won't deny that I'm out of chakra," said Uchiha Sasuke. "I used up everything I had for that last katon jutsu." He then smirked, "but, don't tell me you think I came here without preparing first?"

Itachi, tired as he is, and slowly feeling the effects of his blindness, feels the initial drops as the rain started falling.

"It will be over in an instant," his younger brother assures him, "this technique is like Amaterasu…impossible to avoid." Then his voice hardened. "It's time to reproduce what I saw earlier…the vision of your own death."

Looking up, Itachi sees the beginning of the angry force of nature gathering, ready at his brother's bidding.

With a calm expression, Sasuke continued his explanation. "This jutsu's power source is lightning from heaven itself. All I have to do is guide it straight into your skull." Then he raised his hand. "I call this jutsu 'Kirin.'"

As Itachi continued watching, the gathering lightning formed the shape of an angry beast. "Disappear with the thunder," were the last words Sasuke said before the lightning came crashing down towards Itachi.

_Looks like this is almost the end, I will have to use the last technique of my Mangekyo Sharingan. You have truly grown, Sasuke, to force me into using all of my power. Please, let my body hold out just a little bit more…. _

As the light from Kirin blinded the sight of both Sasuke and their hidden observer, Zetsu, Itachi quietly gathered up the chakra he needed and muttered, "Susanoo."

…and disappeared forever from the world of the Elemental Countries.

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**Sasanaki-cho.**

"Hime-sama!!"

The werewolf roars out her name, and bears down upon the princess with his claws extended. Flandre looks on, unable to respond fast enough after Lobo Wildman parried her block. Behind a tree, the thought "she's in danger" flashed through Hiro's mind, but he cannot react fast enough to save the beautiful girl he saw earlier during the day. "No! I will not be able to reach her in time," came Hiro's panicked thought as he runs out from his hiding spot and into the clearing.

However, something dropped down just as the outstretched claws are ready to tear into Hime. The blood splashed out from the force of the blow, but it was not the life-giving blood of the royalty. Hime's eyes widened in surprise, as did all the others around her, when the intruder took the blow that was meant to end her life. _This is fortuitous and completely unexpected, but he is not the one I gave my blood earlier today._

The interloper, now identified as a man, seems to have already sustained damage to his body prior to the lacerations from the claws of the werewolf. Though injured, the man reacts, almost as if by instinct. He twists out of the way of the momentarily shocked werewolf, and plunged a kunai into the right eye socket of the werewolf.

The werewolf crashed down onto the ground, dead. With the immediate threat in his surrounding removed, the victorious injured man bends over, and coughs out copious amount of blood into his right hand. He can now barely see, and his breathing is labored.

The princess looks down upon the fallen werewolf with a calm and somber look. "You must have been forced to fight me by one of my brothers. Perhaps they threatened your family to turn you against me."

When the shock of the sudden turn of events finally passed, Hiro runs over and yells out "are you alright?!" The princess turns and gives Hiro a flat look. "You are late, and I could have died if not for the appearance of this man." Hiro, with a confused look on his face, can only respond with "huh?" With a quiet sigh, Hime said "normally if a servant does not perform adequately enough, the master would cast him off, but I am a kind master, so I will give you another chance in the future." At the continued befuddled look on Hiro's face, Hime impatient tells him "go inside and help Flandre organize the house."

When both the boy and the android have gone inside, Hime turns and heads towards her savior. "You have saved my life, thank you." The man, who is still bent over, slowly raises his head to look at her. "Where am I?"

Hime raises a questioning brow, and responds "Sasanaki, and this house over here is now my residence." As the man processes this information, she asks him "who are you and where are you from? You are very skilled, to have killed someone like Wildman. He was one of the best werewolf fighters, and had been in charge of protecting me, before his forced betrayal."

The man's breathing has become more shallow. He wearily responds "it does not matter now…I am about to die, and there is nothing more I can do to prolong my life."

The edges of Hime's lips curl up. "Actually, I can change that." At the man's questioning look, she clarified "I have the ability to bring you back to life, once you die. This will be my reward to you. You have shown the qualities to be a good vassal."

The man gave her a slightly incredulous look. "I do not know if that is possible. But if it is indeed true, why would you wish to resuscitate me? You know nothing about me and what I have done in my life."

Hime chuckles quietly. "This is true, but you have already shown that you can protect me from harm, from a threat you are unlikely to have encountered before, and performed admirably. I will give you another chance in life."

The man…does not know what to think about that. But it matters little, as his consciousness leaves him and his body finally reaches its limits. And so dies one Uchiha Itachi, at the age of 21, a fugitive from his birthplace, whose fate none from his world will ever come to know.

But to his fortune, or misfortune, the girl he saved really does have the power to revive the dead. The princess gives a small smile at the sight of the recently deceased Uchiha. "What a wonderful corpse. You will do well as my blood warrior." She bites into the middle finger on her right hand, and gives a few drops of her blood into his mouth. "Take my blood, and live. Serve me faithfully, for the rest of your life."

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Author's note: For those that are baffled, the idea was that Susanoo also possess a space-time altering property, similar to what Madara can do...and Itachi did not know that, before activating the jutsu. Itachi will probably be able to shed more light on this matter later on.


	2. Chapter 2

**A.N.** This chapter was revised several times. I had the idea already, but the fight against the invisible man took me the most amount of time to write. Still not quite sure if I'm happy with it. According to the entry on Itachi in Narutopedia, his favorite food includes cabbage and rice balls with seaweed in it, so I thought to include that in here. I'm going on a trip, so I'm unlikely to give any updates for at least a month.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Princess Resurrection. They are the property of Kishimoto Masashi and Mitsunaga Yasunori, respectively.

_Italics = thoughts._

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Itachi opens his eyes slowly, as the effects of a night of dreamless sleep pass him by. He is startled, and his eyes open wider, when he notices that he can see even the smallest minutiae, such as the cracks forming at the junction of the ceiling with the walls. _It has been a long time since the last time I can see this well. _He calmly sits up in the bed, and looks around the unfamiliar room. Then suddenly, the events of the night before came back to his mind.

---

**Previous evening--**

The moment his consciousness returned, he felt better than he had felt in years. He silently ran a diagnostic on his body, and with some surprise noticed that all traces of his illness, and the wounds he received, have disappeared. Furthermore, his night vision seemed to have improved…back to, he realized, the way it was before he activated the Mangekyo Sharingan. As he sat up, he looked around, and saw that he was alone, with the lights from the nearby mansion indicating signs of life besides his own.

He walked into the mansion, and noticed that there were four people present. Three of them he can detect, but no matter how much he tried, he could detect no chakra from the fourth person in the room._ This is unusual; I would have to look more into this. _Before he could do so, however, a voice nearby interrupted his thoughts.

"So you are finally awake," the blond girl sipping from her cup said calmly. She closed her eyes, and took another sip from her cup. "Sawawa, take away these dishes, I am done. You may have the remainder of the evening off."

"Of course, Oujo-sama. Please enjoy the rest of your evening," replied the maid, and with a beatified look on her face, she departed from the room with the plates.

"You must have some questions for me," the girl continued, and Itachi turned his full attention to her. His dark eyes looked into her red ones. "And I shall answer them for you. You may call me Hime. Both you and this boy here," she pointed towards the mildly nervous boy standing awkwardly off to the side, "have received my blood. I am daughter to the king of what you know as monsters. While the effects of the blood runs in your body, your body can regenerate from any harm…but once the blood runs out, you will die once again. As long as you receive my blood, you can prolong your life."

Then her expression, as well as her voice, became more solemn. "I, however, am mortal, and as such can be killed. You can continue your existence by serving me and protecting me."

Itachi frowned slightly at this. "I recall your offer from our earlier conversation. If I should accept, what threats will I be protecting you from?"

Hime favored him with a small, pleased smile, "as expected from a proper servant. Even though you are only human, you may exceed my expectations yet." Her face then returned to its previous serious state. "I have several siblings, who fight each other to further their claim on the throne. I, however, have no interest in it whatsoever, and am only interested in staying alive. I will fight if I need to protect myself." She paused. "Also, there is a variety of different kinds of monsters that exist, and any one of them can become an enemy at any time. It is not unlikely for one of my brothers to send them after my life."

Hime then put down her cup, and focused her red eyes on him. Though she appeared young, her gaze had the intensity and experience of someone who had gone through hardship in life. "Hiro has already given his pledge to serve me. What is your decision?"

In his mind, Itachi had already made his choice. He asked himself if he truly wanted to live again, and part of him hoped, against hope, that he would see Sasuke once more. However, another part of him was fatigued, and questioned if there really was any point in furthering his life. He had already done much for his village, although almost no one from said village knew the truth. He even gave Naruto some of his own power, as a precautionary measure. There really was nothing more he could give for the benefit of Konoha. Ultimately, despite the desire for an eternal rest from the cares of the world, he knew that he had too much to answer for. Perhaps, in his new lease on life, he would be able to atone, to some degree, for the sins he had committed.

To remain alive, he did not know if he had any other options. In his previous life, he had never heard of, nor encountered, a technique that a person could perform to resurrect himself after he had already expired. He knew that Chiyo had revived the fallen Gaara, but he would not count on there being a shinobi of equal skill nearby. Besides, he could not conscientiously ask someone else to die in order to fully bring his life back. Not after he had already damned himself from what he had done in his past life, for the sake of duty.

"I will serve you, Hime-sama," and Itachi bowed to his new master.

---

As he ponders upon the new information from last night while sitting on the bed, Itachi quickly realizes that Hime is likely to be a target for assassination. Now that he has been told of what to expect, his mind, trained since he was a toddler to think as a shinobi, begins to work methodically to come up with a course of action. _I would need to secure this mansion, and set up proper traps to warn us before an attack. The enemies and their abilities will be completely unknown to me; I wonder if I am fully capable of protecting her?_

_But what of my own situation? _Itachi's thoughts diverted to another path. _It seems that Susanoo has some space-time property that I did not discover, which activated when I initiated the jutsu. The danger of my situation with Sasuke may have somehow triggered the attempt to get away. This aspect of the jutsu is similar to what Madara can do. I suppose I need not have been surprised it manifested in the power of my Mangekyo Sharingan also. _His face, unreadable to most people, showed just the hint of a frown at the edges of his mouth to indicate his annoyance. _However, I should have made sure I understood all the parts of this jutsu first before using it._

_But there is another issue at hand…_ Itachi's thoughts diverted yet again. _I do not know where I am. How would I get back? _ Wearily, he thought: _but more importantly, do I really want to go back? _

He stands up slowly from his bed, and looks around once more at the Spartan setting of his room, as of yet undecorated. Quietly, he steps out the door, and begins walking towards where he remembered the kitchen to be.

"Oh, you are awake!" He is politely greeted by the happy face of the maid just as he enters into the kitchen. "I am sorry, we were not properly introduced before. I am Hiyorimi Sawawa. Oujo-sama said you will be staying with us also. Please take good care of me." Itachi nods his head once, imperceptibly, to indicate he has heard her. "I am Uchiha Itachi. Pleased to make your acquaintance, Sawawa-san."

The maid beamed a smile in return. "I see. Itachi-kun, would you like some breakfast? I have already prepared some for Oujo-sama, and Hiro also, before he left for school this morning." Itachi paused, and nods his head once. "That is very much appreciated. Thank you, Sawawa-san." "Oh, it is nothing," Sawawa kindly replied.

In just minutes, Itachi finds himself with a Western-styled breakfast. While this was not something he would usually eat, both during his earlier days in the Uchiha compound and later on as a_ nukenin, _he nevertheless took a pair of chopsticks, and muttered a quiet "Itadakimas."

While eating, Itachi observes Sawawa working around the kitchen, and begins to ask her a series of questions in order to find out where exactly Susanno has taken him.

"Why, Itachi-kun, we are in Japan, of course." Sawawa put a finger next to her mouth, and gives a confused look. "Um, I really don't know where Fire Country is supposed to be… and although I was never the best in my study of history, I think there has not been any daimyos ruling for a long time…maybe at least 200 years? Oh, I have seen shinobi!" Sawawa exclaimed, causing Itachi to pay closer attention to what she says next. "They are in this commercial about a movie that came out about a month ago. I had wanted to take Hiro to watch it once we settled down here. Ah, that reminds me, I should tell Hiro about the movie, and see if he wants to watch it with his dear nee-san." Thus said, Sawawa returns to the sink, and happily begins to wash the dishes while humming a tune to herself.

Closing his eyes, Itachi tries to put some semblance of order from the clutter of information that Sawawa just gave him. Essentially, from what he can gather, it seems that the society he knows does not exist here. There are no daimyos who divide and lord over portions of the landmass, and it is safe to assume that there may not be any hidden villages, either. He may have been transported, not only a long distance away from where he last fought Sasuke, but also a long period of time away from it, _into the future._

_A world in which the shinobi are not needed…Perhaps that was the ultimate solution, to bring peace to the world. _Itachi opens his eyes, and considers this point. _If all this is true, I will need to familiarize myself with this world, while keeping Hime-sama safe._

"Hum, it seems we are almost out of food already. I guess having five people in this mansion means I will need to buy more food," Sawawa said, after looking through the refrigerator. Turning, she gives Itachi a smile. "I am going into town to buy food, is there anything in particular that you would like, Itachi-kun?"

Itachi takes a moment to consider. "In that case, may I have some cabbage and seaweed onigiri?"

"Of course! Well then, please take care of Ojou-sama while I go." As he watches Sawawa depart for the town at the bottom of the hill, Itachi decides to search out Hime and talk with her, and find out more about the world he now lives in.

While walking towards the dining room, Itachi feels something…slightly off. He increases the range of his senses, and detects an unknown chakra source in the house, creeping towards the dining room area. He immediately picks up his pace, and runs towards where he could detect Hime. "We have an intruder," he grimly informs her.

"Hum, I see." Hime said, putting down her cup. "How do you know this?" Returning her gaze with an even one of his own, Itachi replies, "I am a shinobi. I had spent most of my life as one, and had been trained to detect others, while conceal my own presence to accomplish my objectives."

With a smile, Hime stood up. "Well then, lead on." She then watches, with mild fascination, as Itachi activates his Sharingan. Turning around, Itachi notes, "The enemy seems to be waiting in the halls. He may be setting up a trap." With a slight rise in her eyebrows, Hime had to ask. "Can you see through the wall?"

"No, but these eyes of mine can detect chakra and therefore his presence. I can sense him without the eyes, but the eyes help me to focus on him better." He quickly makes the seals for a Kage Bunshin, which then departs into the hallway. The clone will allow him to gauge the threat posed by the unknown intruder. _The hallways are fairly wide, but the house itself cannot withstand excessive amount of force. A large number of my offensive ninjutsu are inadvisable in this condition._

Hime is impressed, to say the least, though she does not know what this 'chakra' is supposed to be. "You have some very interesting skills. I wonder what other surprises you have." Itachi's eyes slide back towards Hime at that, and for just a brief moment, his spinning red eyes catches her own red eyes. He considers giving a reply to that, but decides against it. "I will take care of this."

"I am glad to hear it, but I will come along also. Flandre." Hime commands. "Fuga," the android complies, and takes out a…Itachi does not know what it is, although it looks nothing like any other blade he has seen before. It has teeth all along the edge, and looks unwieldy, but Hime grasps it in her hands, using two separate handles.

Itachi looks back towards her direction. "You need not trouble yourself, Hime-sama."

To which Hime gives a tiny smirk in response. "My safety is indeed important, but I would like to also participate in my own protection." Then she ignites the engine to turn the motor on. "Now let us go find him."

Itachi says no more. His eyes consider Hime for another moment longer, while his thoughts remain private, away from the red orbs of Hime's own eyes. "As you wish."

--------------------

It just so happens that Hiro returns to the mansion at the same exact time, with his disastrous first day of school finished. If he knows what will happen after he enters the mansion, he may just decide to stay far away until it is over.

The first sound Hiro hears when he enters the door is a minor explosion, as wood splinters off from where a blow hits the wall. "Damn, missed him." _Huh, that sounded like Hime._

"Uh…I'm home." Hiro announces his presence back in the mansion, as his eyes begin to take in the harsh punishments dealt to the presumably innocent furniture and walls. _What's going on?_

He sees Itachi and Hime run through the halls, as he slowly ascends the staircase. "He is turning the corner, I will head him off on the other side," came the voice of Itachi as he breaks away from Hime and goes off in another direction.

Confused, Hiro turns to Hime and his eyes widen upon seeing the chainsaw in Hime's hands. "We have an intruder in the house," Hime responds to the un-worded question from Hiro. "He is an invisible man, and he has placed invisible wires around the house. If not for Itachi, I would have already been cut open several times. Our efforts to kill him have been hampered because of that." She takes out a small knife, and gives it to Hiro. "Use this to cut a path across the hallway as you pass."

Gulping, Hiro takes the blade, and follows Hime down the hall. He cuts away in the front, and to his surprise, he sometimes does feel tension giving way as the knife cuts through seemingly nothing.

After walking along the hallway for a few minutes longer, they found themselves in a darker section of the hallway not illuminated by the outside light. Suddenly, they hear the sound of someone rapidly approaching from behind them down the hall. "The target has come back around, and is behind you," warned Itachi, who realized the enemy had backtracked, and had crept back towards Hime. _It is a good thing I made it back here in time._

With shocked eyes, Hiro turns around, and his eyes are just able to make out the outline of what seems to be very thin wire that has just been brought around Hime's neck. With a shout of warning to Hime, Hiro reaches out his right hand and grabs the thin noose before it can tighten, while his left hand reaches out to push the invisible man against the wall. "Aahh!" He cries out in pain as the wire cut into his fingers, but he refuse to let go of his hold.

"Well done, Hiro," Itachi compliments the boy as he races towards their position. With the intruder trapped, it becomes a simple task for Itachi to plunge his kunai into the man's chest, and end his life.

With their threat disposed of, Hime gives a favorable look towards Hiro. "It seems you may have what it takes to be a blood warrior, Hiro." She paused, before biting her middle finger, and then turns towards Itachi. "Good work, you may both drink."

Afterwards, when both blood warriors have been replenished, Hime gives a small grin. "Now, fix up the house." Hiro audibly groans, before sinking his head into his head. Itachi looks at her, and feels just the tiniest amount of ire. _But was it not you who chose to use such destructive force in the first place?_

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**A.N. **Please read and review, and give any suggestions and constructive criticism for this new aspiring fanfiction author. I cannot guarantee that all chapters will adhere to an approximate word count…the ideas sometimes flow like a stream, and sometimes do not flow so well.


	3. Chapter 3

**A.N.: ** It has been awhile, but as I said, I have been traveling, and could not put up any updates. Here is the next chapter, and as always, please read and review. I will offer the reviewer a share of my imaginary cookies.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Princess Resurrection. They are the property of Kishimoto Masashi and Mitsunaga Yasunori, respectively.

_Italics = thoughts._

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As she delicately brushed the napkin across her lips while sitting at the table, Hime evaluates her current situation. _Will they be enough? _She thinks of Hiro, Flandre, and Itachi, the only ones she can rely on now for her protection. _It used to be different. I had a personal guard of blood knights, an elite force that could have defended me from any harm…except from the abominations that night. _As she notices her thoughts inviting forth unwelcome memories from the back of her mind, Hime quickly quashes them away, and takes a sip from her untouched cup of tea.

"Hum, this is very good! Sawawa, did you make this Earl Grey?"

"Yes, Ojou-sama," responded the happy live-in housekeeper, who is glad that her Ojou-sama seem to enjoy the food and tea she has provided. As long as Oujo-sama approves, she will be able to continue to support both Hiro and herself, with the benefit of the two of them living all under one roof.

"Stop calling me Ojou-sama," Hime sips from her cup, with just a slight hint of irritation. "I own this place, and I am also your master. Refer to me as such."

"As you wish Ojou-sama."

---

Outside, Itachi stands on top of the mansion, at an angle that provides him with the best visibility of the surrounding area. He expends just enough chakra to adhere to the sloping roof of the house of his new master, and several Kage Bunshins replicate the same feat, spread out in different parts of the property, hidden from sight.

It has been a few days since his revival, and he has come to accept his situation, and will try to make the most out of it. Every day, a Kage Bunshin, always disguised as a civilian, visits and stays for the entire duration of the local library's hours of operation. Another Kage Bunshin stays in Hime's own personal library, in order to learn more about the occult and the world that Hime's kingdom rules. In his previous life he had been called a once-in-a-generation prodigy, but really, not all of it was due to inborn genius. He read widely, and developed the skills to quickly study and absorb information from large tomes. Skills which he now uses to great effect, to gain an understanding of the society he lives in, the developments and advancements that are beyond the knowledge of the Elemental Countries.

_Hime_, Itachi reflects,_ really_ _does have the resources of a royalty_. When Itachi requested permission to use her funds in order to acquire equipment for her protection, Hime gave it to him, without regard to the expenses involved. Though difficult, Itachi finally found a blacksmith that would be willing to supply him high quality weapon. It seems that the knowledge for making the various tools and weapons of a shinobi is slowly disappearing into oblivion. _Not surprising_, he supposes, _since this world has decided there is no need for shinobi to exist_. Most of what he sees is merely mockeries of real weapons, made to be sold to unsuspecting tourists. As for the rest, many are of insufficient quality when compared to his standard. It is so much harder to acquire weapon-grade kunai, one of the most basic tools of a shinobi, in this world than his early days as a nuke-nin after he left Konoha. He also acquired a new black cloak for himself, similar to the one he used to wear as a member of Akatsuki, but without the red clouds on the outside. There is, after all, no longer any need to proclaim affiliation to something that does not exist in this world. Likewise, he no longer wears the slashed Konoha head plate, though he still keeps it with him. It is now one of his few possessions from the old world.

After making his purchases, Itachi had secured the compound with various traps around the mansion, as well as in the forest in the immediate vicinity. It wouldn't do for a repeat of the invisible man's attack to occur again. He had already told Hiro that he would begin to train him, starting with physical conditioning. Hiro looked at him with his typical nervousness (_really, can he get any other kinds of reaction from him?) _and hesitantly agreed. So far Itachi still thinks Hiro is too…untrained to be a proper guard for Hime. Though he does not know why Hime made Hiro a fellow blood warrior, he will have to make sure Hiro becomes more capable in his duty, for both their and Hime's sake.

Itachi noted that Hime took part in repelling the invisible man. Also, in the past few days, she had taken an interest in his abilities, and learned the parameters around which some of his ninjutsu operate. When he considered all these things, Itachi believed that perhaps she would also be receptive to the idea of beginning a regimen, to help her against future enemies. However, attempts to convince Hime so far have been unsuccessful. Usually he is met with a blank stare, before she reminds him that it is his duty to protect her, and as his master, she should not have to overly exert herself. His usual response is to blink a few times, stare at her in silence, before acquiescing, and walk away.

_However,_ _she would have to agree eventually. _Itachi has no illusion that the peace and quiet these past few days can end at any time.

---

**Off the highway, just inside of Sasanaki-cho **

"You…your injuries are healing?!" A bewildered Riza Wildman looks at Hiro in shock, since there is no way for a boy like him to survive being crushed by a truck without the need to be rushed to the hospital. What he did showed that he is a good kid, saving the puppy from being injured by the truck. But it is still stupid, regardless, since he ends up being injured himself.

"Ah," Hiro looks down, with a faint trace of resignation in his voice. "It seems I'm nearly immortal." As he continues looking, a faint steam continues to rise up from the site of injury.

_So, he does not seem bothered too much when I transformed my arms, and he's also healing. That means… _With sudden realization, Riza looks at Hiro, eyes wide. "You are a blood warrior!" The feeling of affability from earlier disappears altogether, as Riza picks up a startled Hiro by the front of his shirt. "Tell me," she snarls, "where is your master!"

---

As far as Itachi could tell, it seems like today is just going to be as uneventful as the previous day. That is, until one of the clones dispelled, alerting him to the fact that someone is rapidly approaching the mansion from the road. From what he could tell from the clone's memory, there is only a woman on a motorcycle, and no one else. Quickly, he formed another Kage Bunshin to warn Hime of the arrival of the uninvited guest, and prepares himself for the imminent threat.

He finally sees the motorcycle just as it plows through the front gates. The action triggers one of the traps Itachi had laid down, and a set of kunais shot out at 25 degree angle from the ground 5 meters away.

The intruder sees the kunais coming, but cannot react fast enough, and two of the kunais rip into her left thigh just as she swerved the motorcycle sideways. "Gah!" She loses control of the motorcycle due to the sudden pain, and rolls away from the motorcycle, clutching her wounds.

With some effort, the girl finally stands up, and Itachi quietly lands some distance away from her. While he calmly scrutinizes her, he sensed Hime coming out of the dining room and onto the balcony. "Hum, so this is the person you just warned me about." Hime leans over the railing, in order to get a better look at the newest threat to her life. Flandre responds with a "fuga," having also come out onto the balcony, and turns her eyes downward.

The said intruder violently takes off her helmet, and tosses it to the ground, revealing her dark red hair. "I have finally found you, my brother's murderer!" Snarling, she transforms her arms up to the elbows. Itachi is reminded of the werewolf that he killed, while looking at the fur that now covers the portion that used to be bare skin. His suspicion of a relationship between the deceased werewolf and the current visitor is confirmed, as the girl angrily points a clawed digit at Hime. "My name is Riza Wildman. I've come to avenge my brother's betrayal and death at your hands, his master!"

Itachi remains silent, and watches the intruder while waiting for Hime to respond. With a contemplative look on her face, Hime taps her right forefinger to her chin in thought. "Wildman? You are his sister? I see. He mentioned you before; half-human and half-werewolf, his only remaining family."

"That's right," the now identified girl bitterly replies back. "Now answer me, what dirty trick did you use to kill him?! Just now, you almost killed me with one such trick, so I know you fight dirty!"

"That would be me." Riza is mildly startled, and transfers her attention to the black robed figure who had kept quiet all this time. So quiet, Riza even forgot, momentarily, that he's still there, standing off to the side. In the ensuing silence, Riza looks him up and down and can tell nothing distinguishing about him, besides the fact he has black hair, and is clothed in black. _He's a human from his smell, but there seems to be something…different about him." _

Before she can contemplate any further, the man speaks up once more. "Your brother was killed by me, not by Hime-sama. Although I am curious as to how you came upon the idea that Hime-sama killed your brother. Or more specifically, who told you."

Her eyes widens upon the man's frank admission. "It doesn't matter!" The girl rushes towards him. "I will make you pay for killing him!"

Surveying the onrushing girl, Itachi calmly replies back to her. "I would advise you against attacking, and to leave this property." He readies his hands under the robe and prepares a combat stance, as the girl unheedingly charges on. "But it seems it is already too late for that."

---

Inside the house, Sawawa has been busy cleaning the dishes, while humming a tune to herself. So absorbed in her task, she does not realize an all-out battle is taking place outside on the lawn, or that Flandre has left the kitchen and abandoned her all alone inside the mansion. "Hum, I'm craving some parfait…maybe I will go into town later for some!"

---

A very exhausted Hiro continues to run up the hill, towards the mansion. "I may be immortal but I'm still as slow as ever. Huff. Huff… Looks like I really should accept Itachi-san's training." Looking up, he notices noise of things impacting against the ground filtering through the forest leading uphill. "Ugh, I'm too late. Huff….must get there as soon as I can."

---

"You damned cheater!" Riza cries out in pain, as she is knocked into the earth yet again. _Seriously, how is this guy doing this?! I saw a puff of smoke when the claws rip into him, then as that "him" disappears, another one attacks me from the back! It doesn't even look like he broke sweat yet_!

Itachi looks on some distance away, with a dispassionate expression. "That is irrelevant. At any rate, you cannot hope to defeat me." To him, it is more of a statement of fact, rather than the taunt which others may perceive it to be. The girl's angry glare, however, tells him that she holds the latter viewpoint. But the truth is, while the girl has all the ferocity and the enhanced brutish strength like the Inuzukas he fought before, she is not as proficient as them. And since he has never lost against any of the Inuzukas, no matter their skill level or amount of combat experience, it pretty much guarantees that she has zero chance against him. So far, he had not used any genjutsu, and had fought her in hand-to-hand combat, albeit with a few liberal uses of kawarimi with the already existing Kage Bunshins hidden nearby. At this rate, he can drag on the fight for the rest of the day, though he seriously doubts she can say the same for herself. He is more disappointed by the fact that the girl could not shed more light on the one responsible for her sudden visitation, the one who may be the real enemy.

The girl slowly gets up, her face set in an angry, determined grimace. With a howl, she runs towards him yet again. She tries a feint this time on her left, and follows up with her right paw plunging down, to smash into his still immaculate self. But Itachi easily side-steps around her, after predicting her move without the aid of the Sharingan. He bends his knees and reinforces his right elbow with chakra. Then, while pivoting around on his feet, he smashes the elbow into her solar plexus. With a strangled gasp, she crumbles from the blow, and falls onto the ground.

Up above, Hime looks down on Riza's battered body. She had silently given the command Itachi via one of the clones to give the girl some "punishment" but not to kill her, before dispelling the clone, and her newest blood warrior has done a splendid job so far. She finally decides the half-werewolf probably has had enough, and commands Itachi to stop.

Turning towards Riza, Hime begins to enlighten the girl of the situation. "You do not understand that you are dishonoring your brother's death with your actions so far, do you?"

A bewildered and angry Riza turns to her, from her prostrate position on the ground, and grits her teeth. "What did you say? How am I desecrating his death?"

Hime looks at Riza, and wears the expression as if she is trying to explain the difference between the sun and the moon to a small child. "Your brother already prepared himself for the disgrace of killing a royal, and challenged me."

"NO, he, a proud warrior, would NEVER do something like that!" Riza cannot believe what she is hearing. They are trying to mislead her!

"Yes he did," responded Hime. "He did it to save you…his only family."

Upon seeing the stunned look on Riza's face, Hime continues her explanation. "You may not have known, but your life was in an enemy's hands, and your brother could do nothing except follow the enemy's orders, to save your life. You were, essentially, a hostage used against your brother."

"Nonsense, I don't believe you!" _There is no way that this is the truth!_

"With a slight frown, Hime looks back at Riza. _Must I spell it out for her? _"It really does not matter whether you believe me or not. The most important point here is that your brother challenged me honorably to a battle, and lost. There can be no greater honor for a warrior then to die on a battlefield." As she sees the shock behind Riza's widened eyes, Riza completes her explanation. "And you have profaned his death. By accusing me of betraying him, and causing him to die a dishonorable death…by not having faith in your brother's honor."

Though her body cries out in agony, after having endured the worst beating of her life at the hands of the black robed figure, Riza wills herself to get up once more, unsteadily, on her two feet. She grits her teeth, as her thinks over what Hime just revealed, and the ramifications of the truth.

"So," she slowly begins, "if…if my brother had beaten you…." She raises her head, tears streaking down her anguished face. "He would have committed the crime of killing his own master. The only way out would then be for him to commit suicide, the most dishonorable death for a warrior!" No longer bothering to suppress her tears, Riza asks Hime, "Is that what your are saying??! Just to save me??!!"

Hime turns around, preparing to go inside the mansion. "Humph, I do not know." Then turns around once more, with her mouth set in a small grin. "But I had no intention of losing that fight." With her red eyes focused on Riza again, she asks the girl. "Do you still with to continue fighting?"

With her eyes downcast, she bites out a response. "You cheaters…you killed my brother. But I no longer have the will to continue this fight."

As she watches Riza pick up her motorcycle from the ground, Hime wondered out loud. "By the way, since you have no family, do you have anywhere to go?"

"Shut up, like you care." With that dispirited reply, the half-werewolf rides out of the mansion, and downhill through the forest. Soon, all that remained is the distant sound from her motorcycle…and the helmet that she left behind.

---

"What happened?!" Sawawa's mouth is wide open, as she looks out from her position in the balcony, upon seeing the torn up lawn below. "Were we invaded by woodchucks?!"

Hiro, still exhausted from the climb up the mountain, and after being scolded by Hime for being late to her defense, has no answer to give. He is currently preoccupied with saturating his lungs with air.

Hime, who is thankful that she has a maidservant so magnificently unobservant when the situation calls for it, confirms Sawawa's theory. There really is no need to supply an answer, when Sawawa already has one readily available. _It seems I have at least one capable blood warrior...even if the girl decides not to join me later on, I can probably still get by, _was the thought of Hime, who is now more at peace than before, knowing that her decision to revive Itachi has proven to be a sound one so far. Itachi raises an eyebrow, but otherwise does not attempt to clarify the situation to Sawawa. It seemed impossible at first, but perhaps the rest of the household really can go on with their lives without ever having to explain to Sawawa the threat that Hime faces. He turns around to walk outside the house, to disarm the various traps before Sawawa can reach them. _Well,_ he thought to himself, _this day has turned out fairly interesting after all._


	4. Chapter 4

**A.N.: ** Here is the new chapter, and as always, please provide constructive criticism. I thank all those who have already provided reviews for previous chapters…hopefully my responses have been helpful, one way or another. Anything new in regards to Itachi or the other characters are found using Wikipedia, the gold standard for all things that are interesting and fun.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Princess Resurrection. They are the property of Kishimoto Masashi and Mitsunaga Yasunori, respectively.

_Italics = thoughts._

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As he drinks from his cup of genmaicha, sitting alone in the dining room, Itachi looks outside at the sight of the breaking dawn. The clouds at the level of the sun are tinged in an orange glow, while the rest of the sky gradually lights up from the previous darkness. At this time of the day, when the warmth of the sun has yet to filter through the walls of the house, no one else in the household is awake yet, and Flandre is likely to still be charging up in the basement. This is the perfect time for him to meditate in peace on recent events and his activities, as well as plan for the new day.

After Riza Wildman's visit, Itachi has begun the process of turning Hiro into a more proficient warrior. While it is true that he himself was more than capable of handling the half-werewolf, Itachi has no doubt that Hiro would have been overwhelmed by her if they had come to blows, and for that matter any other enemies that are of equal or greater caliber. This is not surprising, considering the fact that Hiro had been raised as a civilian; his family would never have imagined that Hiro would one day become a servant to a royal, a princess of monsters. But regardless of the circumstances surrounding Hiro's blood warrior status, he still needs to be properly tutored to become more useful to Hime.

In the world Itachi grew up in, people who wish to become shinobi are trained at a young age, to gradually mold their mind and body to the highest degree humanly possible. It is almost unheard of for people beyond the age of puberty to start the process of becoming shinobi. Children simply learned much more quickly, and by constant honing of their developing bodies, they would become ready as trained killers by the time they reach puberty. Or so one hopes; those that are unready simply die an earlier death, usually on their first missions above D-rank outside of the village.

However, Itachi would have to make an exception for Hiro, despite his misgivings, since Hime has made Hiro one of her servants for the purpose of defending her life. It is true, no matter how he looks at it, that Hiro simply is not the ideal candidate for shinobi training; his body is weak, and his mind somewhat sluggish. Constant training of both the mind and the body can only do so much, and he had seen children in the Academy fail, despite the efforts they put forth. Aspiring shinobi-in-training with these characteristics are usually weeded out quickly before they can graduate from the Academy, since they may, in the future, become more of a liability for their teammates on missions rather than an asset.

Still, perhaps Hiro may prove his initial assessment wrong. The boy's performance during the invisible man's attack was commendable, and if properly cultivated, he can function at the same level consistently. Itachi will teach him, but teaching Hiro at the pace set by the Academy in Konoha is unrealistic; their duty as blood warriors demand that they be prepared to defend Hime at a moment's notice, and it would take too long for Hiro to be ready at that pace. Thus, Itachi made the decision to create an accelerated program for Hiro to follow.

The problem, though, is that Hiro may not be able to keep up with the pace. Itachi sometimes overlooks the fact that what worked for him do not always apply to everyone else. The trouble with prodigies is that, at times, they find it hard to relate to those that cannot perform at the same level. Also, this marks the first time for Itachi to serve the role of a teacher. While he had been a Chuunin before joining the Kohoha ANBU, he accelerated so quickly into the ANBU that he was never sent to teach at the Academy. Had Hiro been aware of all these facts, he might have had second thoughts before agreeing to be trained by Itachi.

_Hum, 6 hours of sleep should be more than adequate. It is time to wake Hiro up._ Getting up, Itachi leaves the dining room, and proceed to head for Hiro's room in the basement of the mansion. It is time to begin another morning of training, before the boy leaves for school.

---

Hiro is tired. Whatever preconceptions he had beforehand in regards to his training are in complete contrast to the reality. In some part of his mind, he naively thought it would just be a more rigorous version of the physical education classes in school. But it was more than just that. Oh yes, he had absolutely no idea just how wrong he was.

_Itachi-san is not really cruel…I think. He just wants to train me, that's all. He's not really trying to hurt me for his amusement. _Hiro tries to tell himself this every time his body falls down from exhaustion, or when he gets a headache from reading the notes that Itachi has prepared for him on the theories behind the human chakra system during breaks from his schoolwork. It seems hard to believe sometimes, when it gets to the point where his body or mind stops functioning for a period of time. Really, just what did he get himself into?

---

**Flashback**

The very next day after that girl—Riza, was it?—came crashing into the gates of the mansion, Itachi unceremoniously woke him up just as the sun rises above the horizon, when he should still be in bed sleeping. He tells Hiro that, as part of their new training program, Hiro would have to get up and perform physical exercises before going off to school. In his state of being semi-conscious, Hiro actually thought of telling Itachi to leave and let him sleep some more, and drop back down onto the bed. But then Itachi frowned, and gradually, his eyes turned from black to spinning red. The sight of it unnerved Hiro, and all trace of sleep was gone in that instant. With a stammer, and a cold sweat breaking out over his body, he told Itachi to give him just a minute, and he would come right out of the room.

After he was lead outside, Itachi told him to run laps around the mansion. While this was not too difficult, Hiro found himself out of air after running twenty laps around the property. Itachi gave him no time to recover, however, and immediately delineated the list of exercises that he expected Hiro to accomplish, before he could head back inside, eat breakfast, and then go off to school.

In the midst of the exercises, Hime came out onto the balcony to observe. She had a frown on her face, and made them aware of her displeasure at being awakened earlier than usual. However, whatever hope Hiro had of ending their session early was quickly dashed, when Hime ended up taking a seat, and told them to continue as before. He could still remember the way the edges of her lips curved up, as she looked down at them. "It is good that my servants are putting forth so much effort into bettering themselves. I shall expect to see this everyday from now on."

With a groan, Hiro sank into the ground, but was immediately up again when Itachi delivered a kick into his ribs, and told him to complete the regimen for the morning. It seemed that he had not placed much force into the kick, but it hurt nevertheless. He finished his exercises miserably, and trudged back inside to eat his breakfast. All throughout breakfast, his nee-san kept giving him puzzled looks, before he finally told her of his new schedule. His nee-san, as usual, was clueless to the actual purpose of the said exercises. She was simply proud of him, taking part in something that would make him become a man. How he wished sometimes that she can see the reality of their situation.

---

And without exception, that has been how the past few days went. This morning is no different, and when Itachi finally said "your training is done for now, you may go," Hiro did not need a second invitation to go back into the mansion. He feels no cheer, since he knows that later in the afternoon, after he returns from school, his training session will continue once again until the sun goes down. If only he had been just another simple house servant like his nee-san, he would only have to do chores around the mansion, which altogether would still be far less exhausting than even one hour of Itachi-san's training.

As she observes Hiro's retreating form, Hime comments on the progress made. "It does seem that he has gotten stronger and faster."

Itachi agrees, and nods his head just once to show concurrence with Hime. Indeed, Hiro should be getting better, even though Itachi has not let Hiro feel the signs of improvement. Whenever he sees that Hiro just about accomplishes a goal he set before, Itachi would immediately increase the difficulty level, so surreptitiously that Hiro does not see it. However, an attentive audience, namely Hime, can pick up on the small changes made, but she has given Itachi free rein to do as he pleases in regards to Hiro's training. Another person might criticize Itachi for putting so much workload on Hiro, but, in Itachi's estimation, Hiro should be able to handle it. While the punishing routine they have been on would crush many other children of Hiro's age, the effects of Hime's blood reinvigorate the body quickly, so that just a few hours later, Hiro should be able to train once again, fresh as morning dew. It is an unfair, but still useful, advantage to have over other human beings.

And the curative effects of Hime's blood themselves have been truly a blessing for Itachi's eyes. He can now train continuously with his Mangekyo Sharingan active, since the effects of the royal blood counterbalances the deterioration of his eyes caused by the Mangekyo Sharingan at the same rate, so that he almost feels no difference in his vision while using the Mangekyo Sharingan constantly. This is important for him, since what used to be a curse has been taken out of the equation, and one of the greatest limits on his development as a shinobi has been all but eradicated.

_Speaking of training_, Itachi thought, _I need to do some as well_. With his eyes bleeding into red, he flashes a single seal, and four Kage Bunshins poof into existence, as ready as the original to begin. A second later, as the five commence their training, Hime looks on with an interested expression while drinking a cup of Earl Grey.

_It really is extraordinary for a human like Itachi to be able to do what he can. _Hime thought, while the content from the cup flows down her throat. _What he has already shown me is enough to be on par with some of the most difficult and dangerous monsters in existence. _She looks down, just in time, to see Itachi dispel one of his clones with a vicious, but precise, kick in the abdomen. _ Now, if only Hiro can improve to be on Itachi's level._

When she finishes her cup, Hime continues to idly watch Itachi, but she is interrupted by a nagging thought. _Hum, I seem to be forgetting something…although what it is exactly, I cannot remember. _As Flandre comes out holding a tray with her breakfast, Hime dismisses the issue. _If it is important, I will remember it again._

---

At the middle school, Hiro hazily goes through the routine of his classes. He has not made any friends amongst his classmates since his first day, but for now that is OK with him. Before, he would have been shy, and would not have minded attention, as long as he can keep in peace with others around him. The old Hiro would have wanted to make a positive impression on the others. Now, his early morning training wears him out, to the degree that he can only pay enough attention to what the teacher says.

On his first day, his comical faux pas assured that his social standing starting out would be at rock bottom. After all, can anyone else boast of having tripped on their feet in an effort to get to their desk? Others generally do not talk to him, and when they do it is in reference to his general awkwardness. Some of the boys in the class harassed him, though lately, Hiro finds it quite easy to just ignore them. He simply has no time for any socialization, as he spend most of the school day quietly letting his mind and body return from their weary state, so that by the time he gets back to the mansion, he will be able to face Itachi-san's demanding training. He knows, after the first morning of training, that Itachi-san would be relentless, no matter how he feels at the end of the school day. He would need to be as alert as possible in his afternoon training session, since the look a red-eyed Itachi can give him when he fails to meet expectations is scarier than anything else Hiro has seen so far.

As he gets ready to go to the cafeteria for lunch, Hiro unconsciously dodges an attempt from another boy in his class to pull his ear to bully him. He does not notice the amazed gasps from others around him, with his mind deep in thought. Though he does not know it, the training with Itachi is slowly bearing fruit.

---

After Itachi finishes his own morning routine, Sawawa asks him if he would accompany her on a trip into town. "We just need to buy some food for tonight, and maybe I can make something just for Itachi-kun, as thanks for helping me." Sawawa gives him a soft smile. Few people, and especially fewer men, Itachi doubts, would be able to resist the requests from a woman such as Hime's house keeper.

He consents, after making sure his Kage Bunshins can monitor the house, and warn him should anything happen to Hime.

The shopping trip itself is uneventful, with him carrying the bags while Sawawa picks out the ingredients she would need for the dinner later in the evening. On the way back, Sawawa sees a parfait shop, and eagerly drags Itachi with her.

Itachi can only blink in surprise, as he sees stars literally shine in Sawawa's eyes. "Let's get some parfait, Itachi-kun!" The sight would be disturbing to most other people, although, somehow, the fact that this is Sawawa just makes it easy to take everything in stride.

After taking a look around the inside of the shop, Itachi hesitantly nods in acceptance. In his younger days, he indulged his sweet tooth at times on his own. It all relates back to his position as heir of the Uchiha clan, where every facet of his life is carefully determined by the elders of the clan, and calculated to bring about the greatest amount of prestige to his clan. In defiance to the diet dictated within the compound, he would go around Konoha to search out sweets shops, and partake in something that he sees other children enjoying. It would be one of the few joys of his life that he refused to give up, to let them take away from him.

He had meant to try out some of the sweets stores he sees in Sasanaki, but there is precious little time for himself, with the schedule he created. Now, however, he will have a chance to try something he has only seen in a book on desserts in the library.

As he sits down at a table with a matcha parfait, Itachi glances around him. While Sawawa ecstatically brings a spoonful of her own parfait to her mouth, he sees men drooling over themselves, staring at her. At the same time, he is mildly disturbed to see the women sitting in the shop giving him hungry looks, as though he is some overgrown tuna ready to be made into a platter of sashimi. He has made an educated guess on the intent behind those looks, and it does not promise well for him. _The next time I visit, I will need to be in a henge. _

As they finish their parfaits, the two of them head back to the mansion. On the way, Itachi feels a bit odd, as though his body is more tired than usual. _Hum, this is strange…I felt fine after the morning exercises. Better check to see what it is after we get back._

---

On his way out of school, while walking down the street, Hiro feels the same strange sensation. _Eh, I thought I had already recovered from this morning. _As he passes by the stores on the way back to the mansion, Hiro couldn't help but feel a bit dizzy. _Just what is going on? This morning was not as exhausting as it had been two days ago._

Right after this thought passes through his head, Hiro falls on his face into the ground. At the sight of the teenager on the ground, a frantic passerby shouts out. "Someone call for an ambulance!"

---

Fortunately, in Itachi's case, he does not pass out until he is back in his room in the mansion. But because the Kage Bunshins are still present, Hime does not notice Itachi's absence. She goes about her day, not thinking that something is amiss.

--

**Sasanaki Combined Hospital**

"Director," a nurse informs the man playing golf in his office. "A middle school student has been brought into the emergency department, but he is already dead."

"Humph, so what of it?" came the gruff reply of the old man.

"Um. The same boy was killed in a traffic accident last month, but then disappeared from our morgue."

This catches the man's attention, just as the golf ball goes into the hole, and he turns around to look at the nurse. "The dead-man walking, that boy?"

The nurse, whose eyes are now revealed to be eerily malevolent, comments. "Nice shot, director."

--

_Eh, where am I? _Hiro finally gets up, feeling very groggy. "This place, I think I have been here before."

"That's right!" The door slams open, revealing an old man in a white coat. "This is the morgue you escaped from last month."

At this revelation, a light of understanding comes into Hiro's eyes. "Morgue, that means this is the hospital…"

"I'm the director of the hospital, Sanagida Housei!" The man continued on, with a mad light dancing in his eyes. A group of people in scrubs gather behind him, holding various instruments for dissection, with wicked eyes that promise nothing good will come if Hiro ends up in their clutches. "Please tell me, oh savior of modern medicine! What is your secret, the answer to the mystery of resurrection?"

Grabbing a floor cart, Hiro barges through the crowd, and manages to escape from the morgue. The director recovers, and yells out a command to the others. "After him, do not let him leave the hospital!"

Hiro desperately looks for an escape route, but finds all exits closed off as he reaches the first floor. _My body feels so heavy. _Vaguely, he hears in the background "There, grab him!" However, he can think no longer, as he succumbs once again, and falls to the ground.

---

"The dinner tonight is also very good. You have my praise, Sawawa." Hime brushes the napkins against her lips, content with her servant's cooking. Soon, she plans to retire for the evening.

"Thank you," Sawawa quietly replies. It is such a contrast from her typical behavior that Hime immediately notices. "Hum, what's wrong?"

"Hiro is late coming home from school," Sawawa answers. "He's not the kind of boy to fool around on his way home."

At this, it suddenly dawns on Hime the problem that has plagued her earlier during the day. "That's it!" She gets up from the table, "that's what I forgot!"

"That boy," she continues onward, not noticing the confused look on Sawawa's face. "It is time for the effects of my blood to run out. While my blood makes him immortal, once it runs out he returns to being a corpse." She gives an annoyed look. "Right now, he's probably dead on the side of the road somewhere."

Turning around, she beckons to Flandre. "Itachi is probably also dead downstairs, so I will have to go revive him. It is kind of a pain, but I guess I should go get both of them. You come too, Flandre."

"Fuga." The android follows obediently after Hime.

Sawawa continues to watch her master and Flandre-chan leaving the room, completely clueless. _Huh? Just what does Oujo-sama mean by all that?_

---

Hime finds Itachi in his room passed out on his bed, looking as if he is asleep to the rest of the world. _Hum, at least he manages to make this look more natural. Hiro would probably fall face first on the floor when the effects of my blood run out. _It is strange, that even when Itachi no longer can control his body, he still manages to present himself well. _I have yet to see him make a fool out of himself, either alive or dead. _

Shaking her head once, she disregards these extraneous thoughts, and bites into her middle finger on her right hand. Hime then sits down onto the edge of the bed next to Itachi's prone form, and proceeds to drip the blood onto Itachi's mouth.

Within moments, Itachi's eyes open, and immediately focus on Hime. "What happened to me, Hime-sama?"

Hime calmly looks back down, into the questioning eyes of Itachi. "The effects of my blood ran out, and you returned to being a corpse. Fortunately, I just remembered that you need to drink my blood again, and I replenished you." Getting off the bed, Hime continues to look down upon Itachi. "However, Hiro is not in the house. We will have to go outside to find him. Come with me."

Itachi sits up, and gets off the bed. "As you wish."

After getting off the hill, and not seeing Hiro's body on their way, the three proceeded to go into the town. However, while walking on the streets, Hime notices something is amiss when she hears the flapping of wings. She looks up, and sees the black forms soar through the lower level of the sky. "Hum, there certainly are a lot of bats tonight," she comments. Itachi also notices this, and quietly ponder upon the meaning behind it.

An idea goes off in Hime's mind, as she sees the distant outline of the hospital. "If Hiro passed out on the streets, he will probably be brought to the hospital. Let's go find out."

Upon reaching the hospital, Hime notes that from someone inside the hospital had stared down upon them, before turning away. "Hum, I could feel someone looking at us," she comments to her two servants. "And they are evil eyes."

Itachi, who had seen the person disappear from the window, kept his gaze trained on the hospital's windows to look for anything else noteworthy. "What do you make of this, Hime-sama?"

"There is something strange happening in that hospital, and I think Hiro may be involved in some danger. We will have to go inside." Hime noted, while looking at Itachi. "However, be prepared for any threats."

"Understood."

---

Hiro looked in incomprehension, as the sudden feeling washes over him. The last time he had felt this way was that first night, when the werewolf attacked.

He had just been abandoned in the room, after his tormenters found out about some new development, and are content to let him be for now. Before leaving, the director had given him an eerie smile, telling him that "the experiment to see your resurrection will continue, don't worry…I intend to find out all about how you do it, dead-man-walking-kun."

Scrambling up on his hands and knees, with blood coming out of him profusely from the wounds inflicted on him, Hiro pulls himself up to look outside the window. He makes out the figures of Hime, Itachi, and Flandre from the distance, walking towards the hospital. _I was right, this feeling…it's because they are after Hime! I need to warn them. _

Without further thought, Hiro pulls open the window, and just before he gives in once again to unconsciousness, his body falls out of the window, and plunges towards the ground.

---

With sudden alarm, Itachi sees the movement from the window, just as the figure of Hiro falls out, and towards the ground. Hime turns her head just in time to see Hiro's body impacting and collapsing the van he fell into. "Hiro?" She calls out, attempting to get the boy's response. Upon hearing none, the group approached the van, and Itachi pulls Hiro's body from the wreckage.

"He seems to have lost a significant amount of blood, Hime-sama," Itachi calmly notes.

"Indeed," Hime agrees. In the corner of her eye, she sees a large group of hospital staff, all with the same evil eyes from before, approaching them from a distance. "Quick, bring him into the hospital…we will revive him from there, and deal with these people. I have an idea.

---

"You are finally awake."

Hiro's eyes, which have just opened, turn to the speaker, and finds the face of Hime. "Hime…," he weakly calls out, as smoke rise from his rapidly closing wounds.

"I've given you some of my blood, so you can relax. Really, you cause me trouble to no end." At this, Hiro's eyes turn petulant, and he looks off to the side.

The sound of pounding reaches his ears suddenly, and Hiro sits up quickly in shock. "We are in the hospital?! And surrounded?" He looks at Hime with incomprehension, "why didn't you run away?"

"That's none of your business," Hime dryly responds.

She turns around, to see Itachi holding the door with his back. "I cannot hold them off much longer, Hime-sama." Itachi had originally thought the idea unwise, giving their enemies the opportunity to cut them off and surround them. But Hime had given him a look that spoke of her confidence in its success, and so he had offered no further argument.

"That's fine. Stand aside." The sound of electricity can be heard, as Hime charges up the defibrillator. As Itachi steps away, Hime applies the electricity onto the metal door.

From the inside, the sound of bodies falling to the floor can be heard, and Itachi cautiously opens up the door. Outside, he can see the still twitching bodies, as well as the face of the shocked director.

"Look," Hime indicate to the bite marks on the necks of the bodies. "That is the mark of a vampire. These are nothing but puppets, whose power came from having drunk the blood of the vampire."

At this, Itachi's earlier question is answered. _Ah, so that is the connection in regard to the greater than normal amount of bats in the sky. _

"Such power…from the defibrillators of the hospital," the director continues to look in open wonder, as he sees the electricity dance from Hime's hands. He then finally notes the connection from the cord to the back of the small girl further back, who seems to be mildly embarrassed. It may have something to do with the questionable position the cord ends up in, at the back of the girl…just under her skirt. He vaguely hears the girl yell out "Flandre, full power" and answered by an odd reply of "fuga."

"So you are the leader?" Hime asks sternly, breaking the man's fascination with the source of the power supply, as she advances upon him. "How dare you torment my vassal?! Come and receive your reward."

The man's body changes, as his nails and teeth elongate. With an inhuman shriek, he jumps forward, with his right arm reaching out towards Hime.

Itachi sees this, and is ready to interfere. However, seeing Hime's posture and hearing her words earlier, he decides, in the last second, to wait for now, and see how Hime will deal with the man. He has yet to see Hime fight someone by herself, and is curious on her capabilities. If need be, he will provide support.

He is rewarded by the sight of Hime ducking under the outstretched arm, and turning around, she fluidly applies the defibrillator to the director in one graceful motion, and discharges the ridiculous amount of voltage into the hospital director. All the while, she wears a scowl that promises judgment on those that have done her wrong.

_Well done, _Itachi notes in appreciation. His Sharingan had seen, and recorded in detail, even the most miniscule tension in the muscles of Hime's arms, and also every bit of the frown on her face, when lit up by the crackles of electricity surrounding the director. It was…a mesmerizing display, he must admit. It is also likely to play over and over again in his head later on, when all this is over.

The director, whose body is burning from the shock, whispers out a call. "Master…." However, he can no longer hold up his body, and collapses onto the ground.

"Humph, your master never came for his vassal." Hime turns to call out to Hiro, who had spaced out in thought. "This is an unpleasant place. We are leaving, Hiro."

Jerking back into reality, Hiro quickly consents, and follows the retreating forms of the other three. All the while, he continues to think over Hime's words. _My…master…? _

_

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**A.N. **Genmaicha = brown rice tea, which is green tea with roasted brown rice. Matcha parfait = something you should try to appreciate its goodness.

Um, I honestly thought this chapter was going to be shorter, since it took me so long to develop the ideas in my head. Oh well, I hope you guys enjoyed it. No guarantees that subsequent chapters will continue to get longer though.

I've decided not to include the whole body-turning-white thing that happens to Hiro when Hime's safety is threatened like in the manga. I simply have trouble visualizing the same thing happening with Itachi, so decided to take that out altogether. I hope no one will be too upset about this. Apologies in advance to those that do not approve of the omission.


	5. Chapter 5

**A.N.: **It's been a while since I wrote for this piece, but I had been thinking of updating it. Been a bit busy, but also been a bit lazy when I had some free time. The problem is I kind of already have an ending for this story in my mind, but haven't really developed the other parts in between. I do want to finish the story, however…though it may take quite a bit of time. Feel free to read and critique this story and my other story, "Godaime Mizukage," and let me know if you think there are things I can do differently, etc.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Princess Resurrection. They are the property of Kishimoto Masashi and Mitsunaga Yasunori, respectively.

_Italics = thoughts._

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* * *

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"I…HATE you!!!"

The half-werewolf girl blows up, and throws her cards down on the table. It is the fifteenth consecutive hand she has lost, and she is not happy about it.

Somehow she ended up being dragged along to this distant lakeside house with the princess and her entourage, even though that had not been a part of her plan. Playing and then losing every single round of poker against the person who beat her has not helped making her feel better. Not at all.

"It is merely a game of cards. I did not think it would matter this much to you. Certainly not enough for you to express such intense distaste towards me." Itachi, cool as ever, calmly collects the cards for re-shuffling. He has won every single round, but really, the card game plays to his strength. Namely, he is the one who is best at keeping his face neutral, which Riza quite obviously cannot. Though, he suspects the anger also has something to do with residual frustration from their last encounter, when he thoroughly defeated her.

Riza turns to Hime and Hiro. "Aren't you going to join in too? Why am I the only one playing against him anyway?"

"Because it is more entertaining watching you play against him," Hime says with a grin, while lazily holding her teacup in her hand.

"Um, I didn't think I could beat Itachi-sensei," Hiro replies truthfully, while continuing to clean the floorboards with a washcloth along with Flandre. _And I also didn't want to suffer more humiliation this weekend, to add to the ones I feel in training daily._

"FINE!" Riza growls, and stands up. "It looks like I'm the ONLY one who is willing to play against this guy. But I've had it! Is there nothing else to do here?"

Hime, who has been watching the two of them play, is mildly disappointed that her source of entertainment is coming to an end. "You are too loud, and ruining the atmosphere. Go play in the lake or something," she dismisses Riza with shooing motions while drinking from the cup.

"Wha….what's with this attitude?!?! You dragged me here!" Riza is apoplectic with rage. She is not yet ready to admit it, but she does have a favor to ask Hime.

"You came here just to get your helmet back?" Hime, who has suspected the true intentions of Riza, decides not to call Riza out on them. From her experience with Lobo Wildman and other werewolves, they have only a certain limit to their patience. Eventually Riza would come out and say it. "In any case, Flandre, don't we have a jet ski in the marina?"

"Fuga," the android confirms.

"Why don't you try it? It will clear your mind."

"Grrr…you…you are making fun of me." Riza is unappeased. "FINE," she transforms her arms, turns around and grabs Hiro by his head. "You! You are coming too!"

"Huh?" Hiro, to be honest, does not expect this turn of events, and is dragged away on his feet.

Itachi watches his student dragged away by Riza with a frown, and turns to address Hime. "What are your plans for her, Hime-sama?"

Hime turns her careless eyes to Itachi, and studies him. So far, Itachi has pleased her with his performance, and more and more she is beginning to appreciate the intelligence that lies inside the man. One that has been trained almost his entire life to be the perfect fighter, one who can be ready for any situation. _He is,_ she surmises, _possibly the most astute out of all the blood warriors who had pledged their life to me. Never having been involved in the world of monsters before, he still managed to get this far with no injuries, apart from that first night with Wildman. _

"I think you already know, Itachi," she gives him a mild smile, while her blood-red eyes close halfway, "after all, you are much sharper than Hiro."

Itachi allows his lips to quiver upwards slightly, as the barest minimum indicator of his appreciation. Hime has been a fairly reasonable master, and cares for the welfare of those serving her. It is most certainly an improvement in terms of work environment for him. Previous experiences simply pale in comparison. The Ne headquarters were the most rigid and deadening environment imaginable underneath Konoha itself, and probably not conducive to raise children to develop their social skills. Akatsuki's Spartan caves inside Ame are dreary places to be, full of shadows that only hint at the danger to be expected from the S-class criminals and murderers that make up the organization.

He knew nothing about her in that first night, which he found to be unacceptable. He found himself wanting to know more about her, this girl to whom he had sworn allegiance. Day by day, he subtly pries to learn more aspects about her and her history. And she, coyly, would leave tantalizing bits and pieces, inviting him to figure things out, and yet offer no further clarification to assist him. She, in turn, would ask him seemingly innocent questions at random, to which, if not careful, he would reveal far more about himself than he would have liked. It is a delicate game of cat and mouse, which both have found to be quite amusing. While this behavior goes beyond what would normally be acceptable between a master and servant, neither one of them has discouraged the other from continuing to pursue it.

Just then, a knock was heard from the front door of Hime's summer resort. "Flandre, the door."

"Fuga," the android stands up, walks downstairs to the front door, and opens it.

A merman, covered in tough scales, and dressed in holiday clothes along with a fisherman's hat, peers down upon Flandre with otherworldly eyes. "If I may speak with Hime-sama, please."

Flandre nods her head once, and leads the creature back the way she came.

"Greetings, Hime-sama, but I fear I have come with bad news." The merman respectfully addresses Hime while kneeling down on one knee.

"Oh?" Hime responds, while quietly thinking of the implications. Itachi stands off to her side, silently observing the proceedings, and taking note of every detail from this encounter.

"The negotiations have broken down, I'm sorry to say, Hime-sama. It is no longer safe for you to be here. Please, it may be better for you to relocate." The merman, as respectful as before, duly makes his recommendation.

Opening her eyes wider, the blonde princess looks down upon the merman with quirked lips. "Are you telling me, a royalty, what to do?"

Quickly realizing his error, the merman lifts up his hands to placate Hime, while nervously looking towards Itachi's intimidating spinning red eyes. "No, I mean no such disrespect!" He has heard of the feats of blood warriors, and would much rather not have to face one if he can help it.

"Hmph." Hime continues to drink from her cup, while silently motioning for Itachi to stand down. Itachi complies silently without another word, which Hime is secretly pleased to see. "Your concerns are noted. However, I like the area around this lake, and the air is good for me. I think I will stay a while longer."

"As you wish, Hime-sama." The merman bows in acceptance, though he is not happy with this decision, and leaves the house through the front door.

---

"Yahoo!"

The jet ski bearing an overly enthusiastic Riza and a scared Hiro in their swimming wear zooms across the lake, parting the water as it cuts across the lake at a velocity difficult for Hiro to stomach. While Riza is openly laughing at the thrill, Hiro is clinging onto Riza for dear life while keeping his eyes shut tightly.

He has only started to gain some practice manipulating chakra in his body, under Itachi's tutorship, and water-walking is an exercise that he has yet to master, despite the hours of practice he has put in since arriving at the lakeside resort. Hime has not given a timeline for their stay at the resort, but because there is no pond to practice in back at the mansion in Sasanaki, Hiro can feel the implicit urge from Itachi to become proficient in the skill before they go back. While there is a small pond inside the Sasanaki Municipal Park, he cannot safely practice without some outsider noticing the strange phenomenon of a person walking on water.

But even if he does learn to survive walking on water, Hiro does not think it's going to help him much if he is thrown off from the back of the jet ski. It is a good thing that he found the life vest just before Riza started the engine to the jet ski, and went out of the boat house at full throttle.

"Please slow down, Riza-san!"

"What? I can't hear you, Hiro!"

"PLEASE SLOW DOWN, RIZA-SAN!"

"What have I told you about formalities? Just call me Riza!"

"Alright, PLEASE SLOW DOWN RIZA!"

"No!"

---

"Ah, that was great!" A refreshed Riza comes out of the shower, still drying her short red hair with a towel. She plops down on the couch next to Hiro, startling him, and causing him to blush from such close proximity to the half-werewolf. It's not all that often that he gets to be with a member of the opposite sex, outside of Hime and his own sister, for such an extended period of time.

"I'm glad you are enjoying yourself," Hime notes with some amusement.

"I…I'm not enjoying myself!" Riza denies quickly, though everyone else in the room could see that the effort is not very convincing. Turning more serious, Riza asks Hime. "Why don't you tell me the real reason why we are here?"

"Humph, it has nothing to do with you."

"Oh, but I think it does," Riza retorts. "Can't you feel it?"

"Feel what?" Hime asks blankly, not having any clue what Riza could be talking about.

"Heh! I guess that's why you are a princess. Oi, Itachi, is it? Do you feel it?"

Slanting his eyes in her direction, Itachi gives an imperceptible nod. He is troubled, because he has indeed picked up on the hostile intent surrounding them. Hime looks surprised, and so does Hiro. Neither one of them have any idea there is anything amiss. Flandre does not either. But then again, most people cannot tell, since Flandre's facial expression typically does not deviate much, if any, regardless of the situation.

"I sense beasts," Riza looks at Hime with some amusement, "dozens of them. And they are out for blood. What's going on? What on Earth have you done, Hime?"

"Impossible!" Hime stands up with shock. "They are a gentle clan!"

To add to the confusion, a merman walks through the front door, with water and blood dripping down his body. Itachi and Hime quickly identified him as the one who has served as the intermediary from earlier in the afternoon. "Hime-sama," he utters weakly, "please…run." With that, the merman falls facedown onto the floor, dead.

Hiro, still not accustomed to death, and not having seen the merman earlier in the day, is scared, and confused. "A merman?" Riza quietly asks, looking down on the recently expired corpse. Hime's lips are drawn tight in a line, not liking what she sees before her. It would appear Riza was right, after all, and the supposedly gentle mermen are indeed out for blood...her blood. Itachi looks out the window, trying to assess the threat, and come up with a plan to counter the situation. He does not have all the available tools available to him here, and has only set up a small number of traps around the perimeter of the house. With the increasing number of mermen approaching, they will not be easily deterred by a few casualties.

Sharp cries of pain pierced the air, which Itachi alone knows are an indication of his traps' success. While the rest of the house is trying to understand the meaning behind them, the house suddenly gives a jerk, and begins sliding down the slope.

"Huh? The house…it's sliding!" Hiro panics, trying to hold onto the floorboard, the lessons in using chakra to stick to the surface suddenly forgotten. Flandre, with her impressive mass, slides along unencumbered, while everyone else all manages to hold on, just barely.

Sudden understanding dawns in Itachi's mind, as he realized that the mermen have torn off the wooden supports for the house. Riza also realizes this, and calls out "I get it! The water…they are trying to get us into the water!"

"Water…this is bad. Hiro! Grab onto Flandre!" Hime commands, quickly realizing the biggest problem for her loyal android in this situation.

"Huh?" Hiro looks at Flandre in confusion, seeing the android about to fall through the floorboards, while hearing the sound of water flooding the lower floors of the house.

"She's an android, she weighs tons! If she falls through the mud, she will never be able to pull herself out!" Riza explains to Hiro, seeing as the boy is still clueless.

Without warning, Flandre reaches out her short right arm to grab onto Hiro, and Hiro is pulled along with the sinking Flandre. With a cry of alarm, Hiro desperately flings out his free left arm, and just manages to catch the rope that Riza tosses to him. It is still a hopeless effort, as Hiro is dragged down into the floorboards, while Riza tries to secure the other end of the rope to a wooden column. Hime solemnly informs her that the house is sinking. "Shut up, I know!" Riza irritatingly replies.

With a start, Riza suddenly hears the windows breaking, and sees a cluster of mermen trying to break into the sinking house. "This way." Riza looks up, and sees that Hime has just been helped by Itachi to climb out of the skylight.

While following Hime out of the skylight, Riza finds the swarming mermen trying to drag her back down. She kicks them furiously, while at the same time telling Hime that they aren't likely to keep them off for much longer. Fortunately for them, Itachi was able to secure a duck paddleboat for their use, allowing them to escape the pursuing mermen across the water.

However, the mermen, being amphibious creatures, are equally at home on land and in water. It does not take them long to quickly catch up to the boat. While Riza furiously paddles the boat, trying to disengage from the mermen as quickly as possible, Itachi turns around, and casts a wide area genjutsu that traps all the mermen. The reptilian scales covering the mermen may make it harder for him to penetrate with his katon or suiton jutsus, and he has no time to waste trying to see whether they would work. However, like many other creatures, the mermen still possess eyes and intellect, which makes them susceptible to his genjutsu. As the genjutsu takes hold, the mermen lose control of their voluntary muscles, and quickly fall off the pursuit, stunned and trapped in an illusion that none of them are prepared to deal with.

"Quick, get to that island in the middle as quickly as you can." Hime has noticed the island in the center of the lake, with a torii gate the most visible landmark on that island. They cannot hope to get back onto land, with the area teeming with mermen, which leaves only the island as a route of escape. They need to get out of the water fast, if they are to have a chance at survival.

When they finally reached the island, Riza is exhausted, even with Itachi helping her to paddle the boat. They pass through the torii gate, and notice that they are slowly being surrounded by the mermen, accompanied by the sound of war drums. The three of them shift their bodies so that their backs are facing each other, their eyes warily looking at the encroaching threat. "How long do you think we can hold them off for?" Hime asks Itachi for his assessment. "I can take care of all the mermen here, but it seems that more and more are coming onto the island. Eventually I will run out of energy battling them, if there are indeed more of them." As Hime's eyes turn towards Riza, Riza gives a nod, "yeah, same here. I don't know if I will be able to hold off all these mermen."

"That is fine, we should surrender ourselves" Hime says, to their surprise. "I know this seems counterintuitive, but I know what they are after."

---

A constant drumbeat reverberates throughout the night on the island, as the mermen danced around a large bonfire in a circle, in the aftermath of their successful capture of the princess. The drummers themselves sit in another circle, just outside of the dancing mermen. A single wooden pole, bearing a bound Hime, stands upright behind the bonfire, while Hime's blond locks sway to the movement of the night wind. Riza and Itachi sit off to the side, with their arms bound behind their backs.

Itachi calmly observes the spectacle before him, while devising a plan to escape. He had exerted very little chakra in their escape on the lake, and used only a mid level genjutsu several times on the pursuing mermen. By now, his energy level is back to maximum capacity. His fingers brush along the rope that binds him, and he knows that, though tight, they cannot possibly hold him. From his experience in ANBU alone, he knows at least ten different ways to get out of these bindings. Looking to the side, he notices Riza fidgeting, and knows that the mermen have grossly underestimated her as well. By just transforming her arms, Riza can easily break the rope to pieces. If he can get a signal to her, they can coordinate an escape, and surprise their captors. Then, he would just have to get Hime off the pole in the ensuing confusion, and escape. Riza can take Hime on their paddleboat and make for the mainland, while Itachi tries to hold them off for as long as possible, before escaping himself. The only problem would then be to figure out a way to find Hiro and Flandre.

While he deliberates this, a small merman comes forward, using a walking stick. He looks to be an elder of these mermen. A moment later, Itachi's guess turns out to be right. The merman admonishes Hime for her seemingly superior air, seeing that they are a clan forgotten in the human world, and have never sworn allegiance to the kingdom. Hime calmly responds by telling the elder merman to get to the point, seeing no purpose in prolonging the conversation.

"If you actually have a problem with the kingdom, then I will listen." Hime calmly looks at the amassed group of mermen, without any hint of fear in her expression. "However, I would guess the reason why you have not yet killed me, is because you are after my blood…am I wrong?"

The mermen all fall silent, and their astonishment is clearly visible on their reptilian faces. The drummers fall silent, as do the dancers around the bonfire.

"A…amazing, Hime-sama! Your insight is incredible!" The mermen, with the exception of the elder, all bow down in dumbfounded praise. The embarrassed elder quickly tells them all to get back up. While Itachi wonders about their collective intelligence, Riza quietly mutters, asking about the same thing.

As the mermen quiet down, the elder turns back to Hime. "As expected from a true princess, I will get to the point.

"Our clan will live on forever, since your blood will grant us immortality!" He loudly proclaims, and his voice is seconded by all the surrounding mermen, once again creating an uproar.

"Humph, do as you wish," Hime responds with a grin.

The mermen are taken aback by their easy victory.

"So," Hime begins again, after opening her eyes, to look down upon the mermen. "Which one of you wants to die?"

Shocked silence greets her.

"The blood of the royal family does indeed allow a person to become nearly immortal, but it only happens in someone who has already died. The blood has no effect in the living. I guess you did not know. So, decide, which one of you wants to die first? Or should we have all of you kill each other and die altogether?" A look of challenge passes through Hime's red eyes, as she continues to look upon the gathered mermen.

At the continued shocked silence, Riza and Itachi eye each other, and both give a nod. They break out of their bonds, surprising the still torpid mermen, and Riza quickly rushes towards the leader, with her transformed right arm poised to strike. Itachi circles around to the other side, preparing to free Hime while the mermen are distracted by Riza.

"Stop, Riza." At her surprised look, Hime explains, "right now, I am asking them if they are willing to pledge eternal loyalty to me."

The mermen's mouths open even wider, if that is even possible. This is not turning out the way that they thought it would.

"Nonsense!" A loud voice shouted, and everyone turns around to look. The voice comes from a large merman, who has just left the water, and is slowly making his way towards the bonfire. He is several times taller than the average merman on the ground, and his height easily reaches the top of the pole from which Hime is suspended. "You are all being tricked by this girl!" He reaches out an arm, shouting, "I will drink her blood, and prove it to you!"

As the hand reaches around the pole, Itachi quickly moves to intercept. He hastily moves up the pole, and is just on the point of exhaling the air in his lungs for a katon jutsu when the elderly merman speaks up, and halts the progress of the large merman.

"We've lost, Hime-sama," the wizened merman says dejectedly, "we did want to be immortal, but we cannot kill each other just for that."

"Chief," the large merman objects, "regardless of what you say, I am not backing down!"

"In that case," Hime interrupts, gathering the attention of everyone present once again, "I propose, in accordance with the ancient law, to settle all this with a duel."

Itachi, taking this as his cue, lightly jumps off from the pole, where he was at the halfway mark on the way to Hime. He lands on the ground, and looks up towards Hime. Hime looks back down at him, and an understanding passes in between their red eyes. His irises are like wheels spinning, while hers are wild and slanted, like those found in snakes.

Turning, he faces the large merman, whose attention is fixed on him after his little stunt. "My name is Uchiha Itachi, blood warrior of Hime-sama. I hereby represent Hime-sama, and challenge you to a duel of honor."

Riza opens her mouth in mild surprise, but quickly closes it again. She solemnly regards at Itachi, with a respect she has not shown him previously. A warrior's challenge needs to be taken seriously, and respected, after all. Though it is true that Itachi will survive even if he dies, he is still laying down a challenge that he is willing to pay with blood.

A murmur passes through the other mermen, many rejoicing the fact that if their champion wins, they will get away scot-free. The big merman himself does not think much of Itachi either, and loudly derides Itachi's shorter stature, before menacingly plunging his right arm down with the intent to crush Itachi.

Itachi leaps away, and then jumps onto the outstretched scaled arm after it crashes into the ground, and begins running up the arm. The merman, now somewhat alarmed, attempts to shake him off vigorously, but Itachi holds onto the arm with the chakra in his feet while running, defying the nauseating sudden changes in altitude. He forms two Kage Bunshins, and sends them running ahead of him. They surge forward, and once they reach the shoulder of the merman, each spews out a giant fireball at his face.

The merman cries out in alarm, and uses his other free hand to try to smash the clones. His brethren likewise shout out in distress, not having expected the blood warrior to cause so much trouble, and to have survived this long into the duel.

With a final leap, the real Itachi jumps from the arm onto the merman's nose, and looks into his eyes. The merman looks back into Itachi's spinning red eyes, making the last mistake of his life. The last thing he hears is a quiet mutter from the tiny man, something that sounds like "tsukuyomi."

No one else is sure what occurred right after, but the audience clearly hears a prolonged, ear-splitting scream of utter fear from the big merman several minutes later, before he falls down, dead.

---

In the morning, some of the mermen gather around their fallen champion, still unable to believe his death, and the how easy it seemed for Itachi to kill him.

Back on the shore of the mainland, Hime, Itachi, and Riza silently watch as a long line of mermen gather up a rope, and begin pulling it to the command of the elder merman. One of the mermen finally found two people that fit Hiro and Flandre's description on the bottom of the lake during the course of the night, and the mermen, as an apology for their behavior, have agreed to pull out the rest of Hime's entourage.

"I wonder if Hiro's ok…." Riza comments, looking to start the conversation.

"Humph, he has only been drowned for a night, he should be fine." Hime replies, without any concern.

Itachi silently agrees that, yes, it is true that Hiro most likely will live a day without Hime's blood, but the experience is not likely to be pleasant. He taught Hiro how best to conserve air underwater, but no one, not even Kisame, would be able to last this long under water. _And the worst part,_ Itachi reflects with some annoyance, _is that Hiro missed a perfect opportunity to practice being in combat situations._ Once Hiro recovers, Itachi will make sure to rectify this with some extra training.

"I…I have a request to make, Hime," Riza starts again, with some nervousness.

"The answer is yes," Hime responds with a grin, with her eyes closed.

"But I haven't even said anything yet!" Riza indignantly replies back.

"It does not matter. I already know what it is you wish to ask."

"Well then it wouldn't make any sense!! I'm going to say it anyway!"

After she quiets down again, Riza looks off into the distance, and begins again, while Hime and Itachi look at her from the side. "I have come to realize that even though the two of you were the ones who killed my brother, the real enemy is the one who held me hostage, and caused him to…." She stops, overcome with sudden emotion. Her audience continues to watch her passively, with no hint of judgment in their red eyes. "I know that the royal family is right now in a struggle over succession, and the one responsible for my brother's death is likely to be one of your brothers. I will kill him," Riza says venomously, with determination.

"And for that," Hime completes Riza's thought, "you want to be with me, to lie in wait for such an opportunity?"

"That's right!" Riza looks back towards Hime's eyes, with some desperation. "But are you ok with that? You don't seem to want to kill your siblings."

"It's fine," Hime looks back, with a hint of a sad frown on her face. It is not a pleasant reality to be faced with, but she has no illusion about what she will likely have to do to preserve her life. It has already been a long time since the last time she was allowed to feel any sense of safety. Bound by blood, all the royal children are nevertheless forced to fight each other for their survival, with their blood links also their greatest liability.

Itachi quietly watches Hime out of the corner of his eye, feeling somewhat guilty after witnessing Hime's vulnerable expression. This is the first time he has seen this side of her, and he cannot help but feel a sudden need to do what he can to take away this sadness.

"You are a warrior, and you only really live when you are fighting, right? Hime asks Riza, having carefully removed all trace of her previous emotion.

"I wonder, I am a half-breed after all…." Riza answers, but she is interrupted by a call from the elder merman. It would appear they have recovered Hiro and Flandre from the bottom of the lake.

Walking over, they cannot but help notice the swollen belly around Hiro, and the bluish face that looks like a drowned fish. Flandre is also dripping wet, but is looking down at Hiro, while her arms still encircle his waist. To the side, the mermen comment to one another. "Yeah, he's dead." "Man, he's huge, look at him."

"Uh, are you really sure he is still alive?" Riza asks with some disbelief.

"Probably." Hime closes her eyes, and quietly shakes her head at the undignified sight.

* * *

**A.N. **In the next chapter, I am going to change the order of events. It shouldn't matter much, and at the same time, I will be presenting a new foe that may become something more to Itachi later on.

On a side note, Cylon One has been gracious enough to accept an invitation to proofread Blood Warrior for me, so hopefully things will make more sense after a second pair of eyes look through the new chapter, with less number of grammatical errors.


	6. Chapter 6

**A.N. **First, I want to thank all those that have reviewed my story, and for all those that have said they liked what they read so far. I hope the quality of the story has been satisfactory, and please do offer any constructive criticisms as you see fit. I haven't had a chance to update recently, with my schooling coming to a close, and the pressing need for searching for a job, etc. (since writing fanfiction doesn't exactly help to pay off my loans). Thus, updates may not be coming along that quickly, but I will still write. Special thanks again to Cylon One for being my beta.

As usual, I do not own Naruto or Princess Resurrection. They are the property of Kishimoto Masashi and Mitsunaga Yasunori, respectively.

_Italics = thoughts.

* * *

_

With the long bamboo pole in his hands, the cloaked figure stares impassively at his smaller opponent across from him. The aforementioned man is standing on a tall earthen spire from the ground, with barely enough space for his feet to move around. If he should fall, the distance to the ground is at least twice the height of the mansion nearby. His much smaller opponent is slightly crouched on a similar earthen spire, with a pole of the same length in his hands. The boy's fatigue is clearly visible on his face, but his grip on his weapon is still tight, and his stance has not slackened. The man's lips curl up imperceptibly upon seeing this.

The wind lazily blows around the two fighters. It is just enough to lift his robe, and ruffle his opponent's shirt. All else is quiet around them. Daylight has broken some time ago, and soon, their session will have to come to an end.

With a shout, Hiro thrusts his pole forward, in another attempt to knock off his teacher. Itachi has fared much better than the boy so far, since he has yet to fall. This time, the older man rotates his own weapon in a semicircle to parry the thrust, and in a fluid motion, deflects his pole off his opponent's weapon, with the aim of knocking the boy off his narrow foothold.

The pole hits, and the boy bites down a scream of pain. He was able to channel chakra to his feet in order to hold on, which he had only succeeded in doing so far in less than half the attempts this morning. All the other times, his feet lost their hold on the spire, and he ended up crashing to the ground below, painfully.

Itachi nods, in a rare visible sign of approval. However, he quickly retracts his pole just enough for another attack, and this time, even though Hiro is able to block the blow with his own pole, he is knocked off cleanly, and falls dully to the ground.

Looking down at his student, Itachi silently reviews the boy's performance. The exercise has multiple purposes, and is designed to improve Hiro's dexterity with a weapon, his chakra control, and also his ability to think on his feet. If he does not channel enough chakra to his feet and does not respond fast enough to a strike, he is knocked off, simple as that. Overall, the performance has been adequate for a beginner, and with more practice, hopefully he would be able to remain standing for a longer period of time.

_In another few days, I should probably have him fight on water. At least a small pond using suiton will be less taxing for me to create than the two spires. Also, with his improved chakra control, I should be able to start teaching him some basics in genjutsu. _

"That is enough for today. Go get cleaned up and ready for your classes."

"Hai, Itachi-sensei."

With a painful groan, Hiro picks up his battered body, and slowly walks back into the mansion. His bruises should be healing soon enough so that Sawawa, as usual, will not notice anything amiss with him, other than the usual fatigue.

After Hiro entered the mansion, Itachi turns his head sideways, and looks down towards the balcony. There, the observer of their daily morning training exercises sits on a comfortable cushioned chair, with a cup of steaming hot Earl Grey held in her hands. "Hime-sama, I hope you enjoyed today's session."

"Hmmn, indeed." Her eyes are now closed, as she slowly sips from her cup of tea. "Although I do have to wonder, sometimes, just what kind of world you lived in, to necessitate this sort of training."

"A place that knew no peace, where shinobi are hired to complete some of the least savory tasks that no one else would do," Itachi replied, "a world where peace is but a dream."

Hime opens her eyes again to give Itachi a look of mild amusement. "Perhaps, but the world of monsters is rarely peaceful. Are you having any second thoughts about serving me?"

"No, Hime-sama," Itachi replies, "my life is yours to command, out of my own free will. If I wished, I would have ensured my death by not taking any more of your blood." While he may not be a sycophant, his response, though lacking any real warmth, is somehow more reassuring than if it had come from the mouths of most soldiers in the imperial service.

Silence settles comfortably between them, as Hime calmly finishes her tea, and sets it down on the table.

"Since you have refused training," Itachi begins again, "would you mind at least sparring with me? You may choose any weapon, and you may choose also the duration of this spar."

Hime raises her eyebrows, and looks at Itachi flatly. "Oh? Are you questioning my skills?"

"It is merely for your benefit, Hime-sama. I believe I am qualified to assess them. Although," with his lip quirked upward, Itachi continues, "I confess to also being interested in seeing you in action."

Hime considers the point for a moment. It is true that she had been trained to use weapons, although she could, in no way, claim to be a master in fighting. Her quick thinking, more than her combat skills, has been the reason she has survived assassination attempts on her life so far. _That, and the fact that I happened to have competent blood warriors. If it had been just Flandre and I, I do not know if I could have even survived the first night here in Sasanaki. _

The truth is, Hime is not blind to her situation so far, and it does seem, more and more, likely that she would need to improve her own skills in order to give herself a better chance at survival. She had never shied away from combat, when it became necessary. Even before, when she had her own domain, sometimes assassins do get through the lines of defense, and she was forced to fight alongside her blood warriors. Bloodshed was not new to her, and she had dealt it out in the interest of self-preservation plenty of times. There really ought to be no reason to turn Itachi down on his offer for training, but for the small amount of her pride as a member of the royalty.

Looking now at Itachi, who had been unobtrusively observing her, she sees a talented warrior, someone who has professed to be willing to do anything for her. His very life, now, depends upon her, as does Hiro. Sawawa's livelihood is now based upon taking care of her needs and that of the mansion, and Flandre, with the way she is programmed, will cease to exist once she dies. So many serve her, and at the same time, so many will be affected by her death. Can she really nonchalantly go about her life, without a care? Should she not, as master, care for her servants' welfare more?

Upon reaching her decision, Hime nods. "Fine, I accept. We will spar after breakfast."

Itachi, who had half been expecting Hime to turn him down, is mildly surprised, but recovers quickly enough to give her his acknowledgement. It is only a small beginning, but it is a step in the right direction. Hopefully she will become more receptive after the spar.

* * *

Outside the school, students are walking, talking to each other, laughing, gossiping, and doing just about anything else any normal students would be expected to do on their way to class on any given normal day.

Suddenly, excited whispers break out, as they notice a girl walking in their midst. Unlike the others, she dresses in a dark, navy blue uniform, in contrast to the lighter shade of everyone else's summer uniform.

"Look, it's Kamura-sempai from the high school!" "Oh, she looks beautiful like always!" "Reiri-sama usually isn't out this early during the day. It's rare to see her here." "She is the sunshine in our school life! We are so fortunate to have the two-time winner of the Miss Sasanaki gakuen pageant in our midst!"

The girl herself maintains a benign expression on her face, as she seemingly ignores the adulation thrown in her direction from both the female and male student population.

Amongst all the energetic chatter, starry eyed and dazzled students, Hiro walks in the opposite direction of the girl, in his usual fatigued self. None of the other students notices him, because he clearly does not possess the star quality of Kamura Reiri, the undisputed queen. At the same time, Hiro himself does not know of her, since he has no friends to inform him of the social structure of the school by word of mouth, beyond a passing acquaintance with the boy nicknamed Buchi in his class. Today, to him, is no different than any of the previous days of the week, and not nearly as momentous as everyone else around him believes it to be.

_Almost there…maybe I can collapse on my desk and get at least ten minutes of nap time, so that I can focus in class later._

Completely oblivious to the atmosphere around him, he walks right by the group of girls surrounding the often absent older girl. His entire presence during the hubbub would have gone unnoticed, if the girl had not spoken out loud.

"Wait."

Hiro stops, and turns around, with a quizzical expression on his face. He hesitantly points a finger at himself, and wonders if the girl actually called him.

Silence reigns for a few brief seconds, but it is immediately broken.

"Huh, who's that guy?" "Don't know, never seen him before." "Hey, isn't that Hiro? Wait, why does Kamura-sempai know this guy?"

The girl calmly walks over to him, and then suddenly kneels down in front of him. Turning her head upwards, she looks him in the eyes. Hiro's face flushes just a bit, as he takes in the features of the beautiful girl. While he lives with Hime and sees her daily, he is still quite shy around girls; that, and the fact that she is giving him the shivers, for no apparent reason. There is something mysterious about her, and he cannot help but be drawn in by her.

"Your fly is down," she quietly informs him, and calmly zips up his pants.

The students around them are shocked. Hiro himself is embarrassed beyond any words can describe, and quickly mutters an apology and a quick thanks, while surrounded by a cacophony of renewed whispering.

"Hey, did you see that?" "Why would Reiri-sama have anything to do with him?" "How dare he let Kamura-sempai do something like that? He's dead meat!"

After the girl stands back up, Hiro quickly walks away, but is again stopped by her voice.

"You, what is your name?"

"Um, Hiyorimi Hiro, a second year of the middle school."

"Well then, Hiro," the girl says, turning around to walk away, while flipping her hair over her shoulder, "do take care."

Hiro, and the other students stunned by the whole exchange, watch as she walks away. She has not walked more than twenty steps, when she suddenly falls headfirst into the ground.

"Se...senpai!" Hiro quickly drops off his bag, and runs over to the girl. He himself is dead tired, but even still, he wouldn't have just plunged to the ground like that, unlike this girl. He wonders if she suffers from any medical condition; there does not seem to be anything on the ground that could have tripped her.

The girl, even though she looks dazed, turns around and raises a hand in his direction to stop him. "Call me Reiri," she smiles at him, though she seems to be somewhat strained with effort, "and I am fine, it's all because of the sun, which just shined on me. I should be fine again in another moment."

Suddenly, Hiro experiences a vague feeling of foreboding.

_What is this? I've felt this way before…._

He watches, as the girl walks away. However, before he can think any further, he feels a rising killing intent coming from behind him. Reacting quickly, as he has learned from Itachi-sensei, he turns around to assess the situation. He is somewhat confused, because, unless he is horribly wrong, all of that intent is directed at him from the other students around him, and they seem to be closing in on him.

Not knowing what he can have possibly done to deserve their ire, since he clearly had not harmed anyone or their pets during training with Itachi-sensei, Hiro quickly moves away from them, and walks into the building.

* * *

Riza, the newest addition to Hime's mansion, lounges comfortably outside with her hands behind her head, as she observes the spar between the master and the servant. She has been missing out on Itachi and Hiro's morning training sessions, since werewolves are a nocturnal species, and she gets up late most of the time. Today, though, she hears the sound of clashing metal still in the morning, and cannot help but come out to watch after she finished eating.

Hime is holding a rapier in her right hand, with its point directed in front of her. She is standing in a proper pose, probably the way she has been taught from her days in the imperial court. Itachi is holding some Japanese blade out in front of him, facing Hime, which Riza cannot identify, since she is unfamiliar with the names of these weapons. Who needs weapons when your very hands can transform into the paws of werewolves?

Both master and servant wear the same nonchalant and bland looks, seemingly without a care in the world. However, upon closer inspection, there is the telltale sign of perspiration at the edge of Hime's brows, and her breathing is more forced than usual.

Their red eyes have been locked in a stalemate for seemingly forever, at least to Riza. Honestly, what is with these two? She is getting bored...she may as well go do a few hundred sit-ups. If she is going to ask for a rematch with Itachi, as she plans to do at some point, then she needs to be in top form to beat him.

Just before she decides to turn away, Hime blinks, with a wry smile. She finally lowers her rapier, and holds it next to her body. "I think I've had enough for today, Itachi. I could have died several times, had you not used the flat side of the blade. Obviously I have been found wanting."

Itachi calmly lowers his wakizashi, and then sheathes it. It is not a weapon he would commonly use, it being something more associated with the samurai. However, it served its purpose in the impromptu training exercise.

"Hime-sama had done well, for someone who was not brought up exclusively to fight," Itachi reassures his master. "It would not have been a fair match, with my training and combat experience. If you would like, we can continue with more of these sessions."

"That would be fine," Hime replies, with a barely perceptible smile. "However, this does not mean you can become lazy in protecting me, no matter how much improvement I show."

"That is never a thought I would entertain," Itachi rejoins smoothly.

Silence reigns between them. Riza, on the sidelines, looks between the two of them, wondering what the heck is going on. Because unless she is wrong, there is an undercurrent of something more in the way those two are interacting. Not that she cares. Nope, not at all. And she is most likely wrong about all this anyway. After all, who ever heard of a royal taking an interest in her own blood warrior?

Shaking her head, Riza heads back inside the house, somewhat disappointed with the fact that she missed another opportunity to watch the other inhabitants of the house train.

* * *

Hiro arrives home later in the afternoon, more tired than usual. There was barely any moment when he could enjoy any peace, with the evil looks sent his way by the various students around him. He had made several prayers to the various kami that he heard of, and even offered to go on a pilgrimage, if need be, to all the important 88 temples in Shikoku. Anything will do, as long as it makes the other students stop glaring at him.

After the usual training exercise, he had just finished eating supper, when the phone suddenly rings.

"I will get it," Hiro offers.

Walking into the hallway, he picks up the receiver. "Hello, can I help you?"

"Ah, Hiro," the charming voice on the other side replies, "good evening, I hope I have not called you too late."

With a puzzled look on his face, Hiro tentatively asks who it is. The person does not sound like any of his relatives, and he certainly has not told anyone in his school about his residence here.

"Do you not remember me? I am hurt! It's Reiri."

Hiro's face immediately brightens up. "Ah, Senpai! I am sorry for not recognizing your voice."

With a chuckle, the girl reassures him. "It is fine, you did not know me until today. Tell you what, why don't you come meet me here at the school? We can talk to each other, and you will get the chance to know more about me."

With some doubt, Hiro thinks it over. However, he quashes it quickly in his mind. What person in their right mind turns down an invitation from such a beautiful girl? "Now? Oh, ok, no matter, I will come."

After placing the receiver down, he walks down the stairs. Hime comes out the dining room, and sees Hiro just as he opens the front door.

"Hiro, you are going out this late?"

With a guilty look, Hiro turns around to look at her. He is forced to think of a quick lie. "Heh, yeah, I forgot something at the school." With that, he exits the door, and closes it behind him.

Hime looks on, with a frown on her face. She does not like the way this is going.

"Is something the matter, Hime-sama?" Itachi asks, after he comes out into the hallway. He turns his head to look in the direction of the door, hoping to find the answers there. Seeing none, he once again looks at Hime, with a brow raised in question.

"Hiro has just left, saying he forgot something at school." Hime replies slowly, while thinking the matter over.

"That does seem suspicious, since he clearly has all his school material accounted for here," Itachi agrees. "He is likely going out to meet someone."

"And when it is this late," Hime finally turns around to look at Itachi, with a frown, "it is unlikely to be good."

She turns, and quickly walks towards the kitchen, with Itachi keeping pace. Hime slams the kitchen door open. "Riza!'

"No!" Riza replies with a full mouth, with bits of rice still sticking to the sides of her mouth. She glares at the unwelcome intrusion to her meal, namely, Hime and Itachi. Sawawa, who is washing dishes, turns around to look as the door opens.

"But I haven't even said anything yet…."

"I don't care! Let me finish eating my meal, and stop interrupting my dinner." Picking up where she left off, Riza continues to wolf down her food.

Undeterred, Hime leans down on the counter and continues her explanation. "Hiro is acting strangely."

"I'm sure he has his reasons."

"It's faint, but I sense an unusual presence."

"Ha! The two of you are the most suspicious people here."

"Anyway, I want you to go check up on him."

"Do it yourself! Or send Itachi to do it." Itachi frowns at Riza. Really, this new boarder can be so tiresome. However, since Hime is the master of the house, and not him, he will refrain from disciplining her, as he feels tempted to do.

"If my suspicions are correct," Hime continues, "then I should not leave the mansion, and Itachi will need to be here to protect me."

"Like I care!" Riza replies with a challenging look.

"If you go," Hime brings out a bone, with a smirk on her face, "I will give you this."

Itachi looks on with a barely noticeable appreciative grin. Riza, however, is quivering in barely suppressed fury. "You must be feeling pretty brave!"

"Hime-sama has already asked you several times," Itachi finally speaks up, with a flat look directed towards Riza. Really, enough is enough. "Get going."

"Fine! Wait until I am done eating!" Riza turns back to her food, eating now at twice the speed, with bits of rice flying off in odd trajectories from her plate. Whatever table manners she had beforehand are now all but forgotten, but if she is asked to do something in the middle of eating, they had better let her finish first. The nerve of these people, interrupting her meal!

* * *

Hiro has just arrived at the school, and looks around in confusion.

"You came, Hiro." The girl in his thoughts walks out from the shadow of the school, and into the open light.

"Reiri-san." Hiro acknowledged, now feeling unsure of himself. Even with his underdeveloped awareness, he is beginning to realize the situation is a bit odd. "Why did you…."

"Why? Well, if I have to say it," Reiri answers with a grin, while sweeping her right arm out to the side, "it's because I wanted you to also know the beauty of the night.

"So come with me, Hiro," Reiri asks softly, calmingly, while her eyes turn hypnotic, and reaches out an arm towards the boy. Hiro obediently walks towards her, with a blank look on his face. He never had a chance. "I'm going to show you," Reiri continues, with her fangs now bared, "a brand new world."

"Get away from her, Hiro!" Riza shouts. The half-werewolf finally arrived at the school, after picking up Hiro's scent, and now is within visual range. She continues to run towards Hiro, until she notices the girl's fangs in Hiro's neck. "Damn it! I'm too late."

* * *

"Do you know," Hime asks her remaining servants, after sending Sawawa away, "how to protect yourself from a vampire?"

"Fuga?" Flandre asks.

Itachi, thinking back to previous events, furrows his brows, now understanding Hime's motive. "You should never leave the house, since, according to what I have read, a vampire cannot enter a house unless he has been invited in at least once."

"Correct," Hime smiles in approval. "But should you encounter a vampire outside, at night, you cannot hope to defeat him."

Itachi looks at Hime, less than impressed with that commonly accepted piece of wisdom. "Has that really been put to the test?"

"Not by you yet." Hime admits. "But I am not too worried, since vampires have their own natural enemies. Werewolves."

* * *

"I thought I smelled a mongrel." Reiri looks at the interloper, while talking to the now immobile Hiro on the ground. "I guess our honeymoon has been ruined."

"You filthy vampire!" Riza snarls, "You maggots have killed thousands of my comrades!"

"Same to you," Reiri replies uncaringly, while licking her lips, and enjoying her recent meal. "Now get back to your zoo!"

"Why you!" Riza rushes in, while transforming her arms. This one is going down!

However, Reiri suddenly takes off, and flies into the air with surprising ease just before Riza's claws can tear into her. Riza is shocked, but she has clearly missed her target.

"You just rush at me?" Reiri taunts from her position in the air, "you really are just a dumb brute!"

"What? A coward like you only is good at running away!" Riza turns angrily in her direction, but from the corner of her left eye, she detects another movement.

The newly revived Hiro, with an empty and glassy-eyed look, begins to slouch away.

"Hiro? Where are you going?" Riza asks, but Hiro continues onward, as if he has not heard her at all. "Wait!" Riza takes off after him, trying to put a stop to his progress.

She has only taken a few steps, before she is forced to stop suddenly, as the vampire drops out of the air, right in front of her.

"Oh, I have no need to run from a beast like you," Reiri continues their previous conversation, without missing a beat.

"What are you doing to Hiro," Riza asks, while assessing her opponent.

"Nothing," the vampire claims, "I just sent him home. She's there right? The princess is at home."

With dawning understanding, Riza furrows her eyebrows. "So you are after Hime, since Hiro can enter without being invited."

"That immortality-granting blood," Reiri licks her lips, in unconscious anticipation, "sounds delicious, don't you think?"

In response, Riza delivers a punch right into Reiri's face, forcing the vampire back, while drawing first blood. Reiri crouches down while sliding back, in order to put a stop to her movement. "You talk too much," Riza says, in boredom, while raising her transformed arm in a sign of challenge.

"Livestock that does not listen to its masters," Reiri angrily looks back, all playfulness gone from her face, while wiping away the blood from her lips, "becomes dinner!"

* * *

The wall-mounted clock chimes just as it struck midnight.

The three people in the room look up, and regard the piece of machinery.

"Riza and Hiro," Hime comments to Itachi and Flandre, "are late."

Hearing a noise, they turn their attention to the window. There, flapping its wings, is a bat, making small screeching noises, as if it was communicating with another person some distance away.

Itachi frowns, while Hime gives an imperceptible grin. "Hum, looks like things went badly."

* * *

Outside, Hiro slowly stalks through the gates, and walks towards the front doors of the mansion. Once there, he opens the doors, and slowly begins to walk up the stairs. Just as he reaches the top level, he is skewered with a rapier, and as the rapier is drawn back, he is then thrown back against the wall, spilling the blood from his newly inflicted wound.

Dimly, Hiro's eyes look up towards the holder of the rapier. Hime stands facing her warrior. Flandre is already by her master's side, looking on, wordlessly, as she usually does. Itachi has come out of a nearby door, and stands nearby, ready to move against his student as the need arises. He had requested to take care of Hiro by himself, so as not to expose Hime to unnecessary danger, but Hime had insisted on taking part in the effort to subdue Hiro. Itachi is reluctant still. They simply do not know just how much stronger Hiro may become, now that he is infected with vampiric blood.

Hiro finally gets up, flipping himself up, while muttering 'blood' over and over. The canines in his upper teeth are noticeably elongated, and his expression has a manic quality to it.

Hime smiles at her wayward warrior, and challenges Hiro by pointing the tip of her rapier in his direction. "Alright Hiro, if you want my blood, then come get it."

In response, the boy charges, with his arms spread out towards Hime. Itachi sends out a Kage Bunshin that neatly stops Hiro in his tracks, with a well-timed punch that sends him back into the wall. The nuke-nin blinks, not at all expecting this. That effort was only meant to be a distraction, so that he can have another Kage Bunshin attacking Hiro from the back. Somehow this seems too straightforward. It's almost as if, while under the control of the vampire's blood, Hiro has lost some basic abilities to think and to react. The boy's eyes only seem to be on Hime, to the exclusion of everything else around him. While that is a good quality to have in, say, a bloodhound, it is a serious detriment for a shinobi, who should always be on guard for any changes to the environment.

Again and again, the tainted boy gets up to run at Hime, but each time he is beaten down, bloodied, either by Hime, Flandre, or Itachi. It is quite obvious, to Itachi and Hime, that this has quickly ceased to be a challenge, and has become nothing more than some macabre version of whack-a-mole.

Finally, Hiro stays down, after Flandre pushes him over. The little maid may not look like much, but her shoves are as gentle as the force of a runaway freight train. Hime looks on, not sure whether she should be pleased or annoyed. "Somehow, I'd thought, a blood warrior, further strengthened by vampirism, would be more of a threat."

Itachi silently agrees, but at least the danger is over, for now. "Now it remains to be seen whether Riza can fulfill her task, so that we can bring Hiro back to normal."

* * *

They waited long into the night, still without any word from Riza. Finally, Hime's mobile phone rings, and Flandre hands it over to Hime. Itachi turns to look, taking a break from guarding Hiro.

However, the news does not seem to be very good, as Hime's brows are furrowed. Channeling some chakra to his ears, Itachi picks up the conversation. Riza is lamenting her inability to stop the vampire, but believes she can still do it, and provide Hime with a serum to save Hiro. That is, until Hime informs Riza that the situation is direr than she thinks, because the effect of the royal blood in Hiro will run out by tomorrow. What is left unsaid is that once the blood runs out, Hiro will die. The blood of the vampire has some regenerative qualities, but it cannot revive the dead.

As Riza angrily blames herself for having let the vampire give her the slip, Hime calmly sets the phone down, and walks over towards Itachi's position. Itachi immediately becomes guarded, having some inkling as to Hime's plan. "Hime-sama, you should reconsider. There must be some other way to find the vampire. I can search the city using Bunshins, with whatever leads Riza provides me."

Hime turns to Itachi, surprised. She usually prides herself in her ability to keep calm in any situation, so as to never give anyone any unnecessary hints of her intentions. Has Itachi come to know her so well, in such a short space of time, to guess what she is thinking? "How did you know?"

"If Hiro bites me, then I may be overcome by the vampiric blood as well. However, your royal blood may have a chance to withstand the effect of vampirism. There is nothing ever documented about this, but that is probably your intent. I am merely deducing your action, based on everything that has led up to this point." Itachi furrows his brows, once he finishes his explanation. "So I ask again, Hime-sama, please reconsider, before taking this gamble."

Shaking her head, but with a smile on her face, Hime turns him down. "This is the most straightforward way. It takes time to make the serum, in case you didn't know. We have to act quickly."

Bending down, she wakes up Hiro. "This is a special case, Hiro," she tells him solemnly. "Don't ever think something like this will ever happen again." She closes her eyes, once she feels Hiro's fangs penetrate the skin of her neck.

* * *

In a dilapidated church, on the outskirts of Sasanaki, Kamura Reiri opens her casket, with a most unladylike yawn. "I'm so tired, thanks to that ugly mongrel," she quietly talks to herself. "But, it was a productive day."

Climbing into the casket, and after making herself comfortable, she licks her lips in anticipation. "Soon, I will get to taste the blood of a royal princess. And I will bet she's still a virgin too, my princess." Closing the lid, she mumbles her good-evenings to her fellow dwellers of the church, who, unlike her, are very much dead. She will wait for the day to be over, and then finally satisfy herself in Hime's blood.

But that happy thought is quickly ended, before she has even drifted off to the beginning stages of sleep. Her lid is suddenly opened, revealing the face of Hime, and her other blood warrior. Reiri did not expect to see Hime so soon, and the shock is evident on her face. "Impossible, how did you find me?"

Without a word in response, Hime takes out an object with her left hand, and pokes it into Reiri's left chest, without penetrating her flesh. In her right hand is a wooden hammer. "A white ash stake?" The situation has quickly turned to the worst in such a short time that Reiri has no time to prepare. Already she is at checkmate.

Knowing that she is at the mercy of Hime, Reiri nevertheless has to ask, if nothing else but to satisfy her curiosity. "How, how did you find me?"

"I just…asked your blood." Hime smiles, in a strained manner. Her breathing is coming out a little faster than usual, and her canines are also lengthened.

Seeing this, Reiri gasps out in surprise with the realization. "You, you are half-vampire?"

"Between the vampire blood and royal blood," Hime informs Reiri, "the royal blood won out."

"Impossible," Reiri cries out, not believing something like this could happen, "a royal would never take such risks for a mere human."

"Humph, I am a little impulsive."

Her mouth opened in surprise, Reiri takes in Hime's response. To think, to be cornered by a princess using the most unlikely method. She would never have believed it possible, but there is no reason to doubt Hime's words.

Finally, Reiri closes her eyes, with a smile. "You win," she concedes. "Well, I guess, to be killed by you wouldn't be so bad."

"Tell me," Hime asks, "are you the one who controls Sasanaki General Hospital?"

With her eyes remaining closed, having resigned herself to her death, Reiri nevertheless smiles in her denial. "Well, I am basically only interested in maidens."

"Humph," Hime smiles, and throws away her hammer, to the consternation of the watching Itachi. "I am not going to kill you."

Wordlessly, Itachi walks closer to the casket, prepared to defend Hime should the vampire take advantage of her situation. He can only look on, as Hime extends her hands, and picks up the vampire in her arms.

"You are taking pity on me?" Reiri asks, with amusement.

"Why would you think that? You have not done enough to merit killing." Hime smiles, coyly. She then releases her hold on Reiri, and gets off the opened casket. As Hime does so, it reveals Flandre standing behind her and holding an oversized syringe. "However, I am going to need a small amount of your blood."

Reiri's eyes widen to impossible proportions, at the sight of the needle. Her punishment seems rather harsh, but to be honest, she would rather take this, than to face death.

"So, bend over," Hime commands.

"Ah, so this is what you are into, Hime-sama." Reiri replies, attempting to keep herself as laconic as possible. This one is going to hurt.

Itachi's lips turn up on the edges, as he watches the vampire submitting herself, without any struggle. The situation is quite amusing, but remembering his manners, he quickly averts his face to the side. She may not be human, but she deserves some privacy for her humiliation.

* * *

Several days later, a familiar scene plays out, outside of the city's middle school. Reiri walks through the crowds, and upon seeing her, a throng of girls cry out her name, and swarms towards her.

"Reiri-sama, you haven't been to school for 5 days!"

After she is once again surrounded by the girls, she bends her head slightly, in apology. "I am sorry that I'm absent so much, I must make you worry."

"No, you are too kind, Reiri-sama!"

As the girls chat animatedly, Reiri notices Hiro walking, once again, in the opposite direction nearby. However, he seems to be trying his hardest to remain undetectable. "Wait."

Cringing a bit, Hiro turns his worried face towards her. He had hoped to avoid her, given what had happened just days ago, but it seems like luck is against him, yet again.

Once she is next to him, Reiri sticks her tongue out, and licks Hiro's neck. "Let's," she silkily mutters, "play together another night sometime."

His face immediately blushes, but Hiro is nevertheless horrified by the insinuation. He can no longer look at her the same way he did before, but he cannot deny the fact that she is attractive, regardless.

As Reiri walks off, quietly humming to herself, the younger girls quickly follow after her, while looking incredulously in Hiro's direction. "Reiri-sama, who is that? "Is that your boyfriend?" "Really, is he your type?"

Hiro rubs the spot licked by Reiri, embarrassed. Just behind him, above a nook created by two branches of a tree, Riza and a clone of Itachi looks on. They had come today, to ensure Reiri's proper behavior, and that she would not make any further attempt on Hiro.

"Gah, worthless," Riza dismisses Hiro's embarrassment. The boy obviously still has some ways to go before he can resist the charms of someone like Reiri. The Kage Bunshin says nothing in response. Resistance to the opposite sex is a topic that Itachi knows should be broached with Hiro at some point, but he just wasn't sure how to go about doing it. He, at least, owes Reiri a favor for having done it for him.

* * *

**A.N. **For those of you wondering, yes, I did skip the chapter with Sherwood. I will bring her back into the story, later on. However, as a forewarning, I don't think I will be adapting every chapter in the manga. One of the reasons is because I am lazy. Also, Itachi is going to become an important factor, having enough of an impact as to change certain events, so that some future events would not have happened the way they did in the manga. I realize Hiro is still presented as being kind of weak, but the way I reasoned it, there is no way he can just go out and kick ass, having only been trained by Itachi for about a month or so. He will start to show the fruits of his labor, perhaps as soon as the next chapter. Once again, feel free to provide any constructive reviews.

* * *

_And now…an omake from a friend, reimagining Hime as a werewolf._

In fact, from her training in the imperial court, she has learned from these very paws to cut and dice and slice wonderful dishes of sashimi and sushi. She has been known as the "killer chef", no pun intended. One scratch of her paw on the cutting board can immediately bring about approximately six fine slices of toro sashimi instantaneously, a skill not overlooked by the imperial court to increase the efficiency of preparing dishes. She has been a Hime well loved and admired by warriors and domestic housewives alike.


	7. Chapter 7

**A.N.** I apologize for the delay in update, and it has been quite a while. To be honest, I have had writer's block, and very little inspiration came to mind, but hopefully this chapter turned out well.

I do not own Naruto or Princess Resurrection. They are the property of Kishimoto Masashi and Mitsunaga Yasunori, respectively.

-O-

The morning light finds one Uchiha Itachi up and about, already getting started while most others are still in the midst of slumber. Hiro is off to the side, training in unarmed combat with Itachi's Kage Bunshin for the greater part of the last hour. The inability of Hiro to dispel the clone is not really a matter of concern for Itachi, since he is nowhere near that level yet. Itachi would be greatly surprised if his pupil actually manages the feat at this point in time.

While his student is occupied, Itachi is diligently, and carefully, inking a pattern into the ground. Hiro has seen it, but has not had the time to ask, though he is very curious. Itachi has given him a brief demonstration of how explosive notes work, and showed him the seal imprinted on the paper. While he is not foolish enough to think the same seal is now being drawn into the ground with the mansion at its center, he is still wondering about it. There is still so much more to learn about the shinobi arts, and he is handicapped enough as it is with his late start.

The few seconds of inattention is rewarded with a sharp kick to Hiro's stomach, causing him to lose his breathe. The kick is followed by a flurry of quick punches that has him staggering, until Hiro finally jumps away to a safer distance, attempting to get his breathing under control again.

"It is good that you are aware of other things occurring in your environment while in combat," the clone intones, continuing with the assault, "but in a real battle, do not expect your enemy to overlook such an opening as you have just presented me."

With a shake of his head, the real Itachi continues his task, without pause. Everything will be explained later. Just a little bit more….

And with quiet flourish, he draws back the brush, and stands back to admire his work. The seal is now complete, and he is sure it should work as he intends it to. He may not be able to claim to be a fuinjutsu master, but he has learned quite a bit from S-class fellow Akatsuki members who know more than him. It doesn't hurt to admit his own shortcomings, as long as he works to overcome them.

The balcony doors open outward, catching Itachi's attention. He turns around, and watches as Hime walks out. Her hair catches the rays of the sun, illuminating it in all its chatoyant glory. Flandre follows after her, bearing a tray of morning coffee in her hands, and waits nearby as Hime sits herself down.

"Punctual as ever, Hime-sama." Itachi greets her.

"Are you saying that I am predictable?" Hime carelessly asks, while reaching over her hand for the cup of steaming Earl Grey poured by Flandre.

"No, but I cannot fail to notice that you always come out of your balcony at the same time every morning. It helps me plan for Hiro's routine."

"How thoughtful," Hime responds, while surveying the ground beneath her. "By the way, what is that design that you have placed into the ground around the mansion? It better not be something that casts magic upon the mansion and its occupants."

"It does have a function, but it will not harm you, that much I can reassure you." Itachi looks behind him at this morning's handiwork. "I will let you know more in detail, once Riza wakes up, so that I can tell everyone at once." Everyone, that is, except for Sawawa, who shall remain blissfully ignorant, as everyone else had agreed upon, of the not-so-clandestine struggle for the throne.

"Very well," Hime closes her eyes, enjoying her coffee. Itachi turns around, and slowly walks towards Hiro and the Bunshin. With a poof, the clone dispels. Hiro, who is panting hard, relaxes from his stance, and places his hands on his knees, trying to recover his breathing.

"You are improving, and that is good news. The same problems are still present, but I see that you are working on them, so there is no need for me to tell you again." Itachi watches, as Hiro slowly gets his breathing under control. "Take a five minute break."

With a nod, Hiro sinks into the ground, gratifying in the feel of the tension flowing out of his muscles, if only momentarily.

Riza walks out, with a yawn, and stretches her arms in the air.

"Oh, you are up early," Hime notes. "I thought you wouldn't awake for at least another hour."

"Believe me, if I had my way, I would keep on sleeping," she grunts. "I guess you early risers are finally getting to me." Rubbing the vestiges of sleep away, she blinks, and then looks down into the ground. "Huh, that's a weird drawing. Wonder what it does."

"Itachi said he would explain, once you wake up."

"Well, I'm awake now, but I was hoping to do some morning exercise first. Oy, Itachi," the half-werewolf calls out. "Are you guys still training?"

Two pairs of eyes glance up at her. Itachi nods. "We are. Hiro is taking a break, but will be starting again soon."

"Hah, that's what I want to hear." Riza smirks. "Hey Hiro, I want to see how many pushups you can do. Let's have a little competition."

"Wh…what? But I've already been training for more than an hour! There is no way I can beat you right now, even when I'm not tired!"

"Quit complaining! Are you a man or not?"

"But Itachi-sensei already assigned me work to do," Hiro frantically looks to his instructor for a way out of this predicament, silently pleading. The girl is too wild for him, and he really doesn't want to get dragged along.

Itachi, however, apparently sees no problem with the unscheduled workout. "Fine, you can have him for now."

With a small grin, he watches Hiro's eyes widen, and Riza's yell of approval. He's not really sadistic, but it's fun to screw around with his student, once in a while. He blames Hime for this newfound capriciousness.

-O-

The rest of the morning session ended rather quickly after the impromptu pushup competition, since Hiro's body does have a certain limit. A limit that is much higher than what it was before when Itachi first started training Hiro, but it is a limit nevertheless.

Both he and Riza watch as Hime teases Hiro, dripping her blood down towards the boy from the deck, while Hiro frantically tries to catch it with an open mouth, like a hatchling bird begging for the parent to feed it. Fortunately, for him at least, Hime has always given her blood to him when he needed it. Most likely because neither one of them can imagine Itachi in Hiro's current situation. And it would have made for a rather questionable sight, should anyone catch the two of them doing such a thing.

Itachi suddenly looks up, as a dispelling clone informs him the presence of two people walking sedately towards the estate. That alone is interesting, since they have not had any visitors since the half-werewolf standing next to him. The other notable fact is that the two people are arrayed in the same fashion as Hime and Flandre. Putting all the facts together, Itachi realizes that it is most likely another member of the royal family, and her own personal android.

"What is it, Itachi?" Riza looks sideways at him with interest, having noticed the change in Itachi's posture. Though she hates to admit it, but the man standing next to her is a better fighter, and she still needs to do much more before she can compare herself to him. And he does not even have any monster blood in him, unlike herself. Hopefully, by that point, she will be more than capable of taking down her brother's killer, and the lackeys working for that person.

"We have visitors." Itachi answers succinctly.

"Oh? That's rare. Who could it be?" Riza wonders out loud, drawing Hime's attention. Ignoring Hiro's loud protestation below, Hime turns her head around to look at Itachi.

"You shall see for yourself." At this point, Itachi's mind is not really focused on keeping the half-werewolf happy, though a small part of him knows that the careless remark is likely to raise her ire. If what he guesses is true, and he is almost certain he is correct, then, from Hime's description of her siblings, the visitor is Sherwood-hime, the third princess of the royal family. This can be problematic, with the current struggle for the throne. He will have to prepare himself for a likely violent confrontation.

Looking sideways, he assesses the other active fighters of Hime's household. The furious half-werewolf is competent enough, though hot tempered. Hime has a wonderful mind that can find solutions to any situation, provided she is given the time to do so. Flandre is…very useful. There certainly are advantages to not actually being a living organism, as well as drawbacks. As for Hiro…well, hopefully he can be ready for this, and the potential conflict is as good a time as any for an evaluation of his progress.

"How many are there?" Hime asks, now fully focused.

"Just two, at least the ones that I can see. If there are more they have so far remain undetected."

"Do they mean well, you think?"

It is really a rhetorical question, but Itachi decides to answer it anyway. "No outward sign that they don't, but we should still be prepared."

"Oh, maybe there is a chance for a fight." Riza grins, while lightly punching her right fist into her left palm.

"We will see. And here they are."

Immediately after Itachi says this, then the air is punctuated by the sound of a young girl's voice. "Onee-sama!"

Hime looks mildly surprised, but answers the call with one of her own. "Sherwood."

Itachi remains impassive. His suspicion is confirmed.

Hiro looks befuddled, not having a clue whatsoever. It is quite obvious to Itachi that Hiro has not asked Hime about her siblings.

Riza looks confused for a moment, rolling around the name in her mouth, before finally realizing why it sounds vaguely familiar. "She's a royal?" With a quick outburst, she rushes down the stairs, while transforming her arms.

Hime is stunned at the sudden change coming over Riza, but quickly schools her expression back to normal. With a nod to Itachi, the two of them follow her at a more sedate pace.

They just manage to hear a snarled self-introduction from Riza, before witnessing her rather quick and humiliating defeat by the android serving the diminutive girl standing in the foyer.

"It wasn't her, Riza," Hime informs the half-werewolf, just in case she flies off the handle again. Itachi frowns. From what Hime told him, other than Sherwood, she has four older siblings currently alive. If not Sherwood, then which of the other ones sent the Wildman siblings against Hime? Which of them pose the greatest danger? There is still so much of the royal family that remains unknown, but he intends to find out their secrets. He will start with Sherwood, and start gathering information to form a profile for each of the other competitors for the throne. And if the chance presents itself, unless Hime explicitly says no, perhaps he can discreetly make them drop out of the race.

-O-

After Hime called them away, the blood warriors, along with Riza, stand outside of the dining room, while the royal siblings hold a conference attended by no one else other than their guardian androids.

While Riza sits down onto the floor, making herself comfortable by leaning her back against the wall, the two males stand facing the room. Hiro, overcome by his own curiosity, carefully pushes the doors to the dining room a little wider. Snippets of the conversation can now be heard outside of the dining room.

"Itachi-sensei." Hiro asks.

"What is it." Itachi responds calmly, already guessing the question in Hiro's mind.

"Is that girl Hime's….?"

"Yes, she is Sherwood-hime, the third princess. You should have taken the initiative to ask for this information from Hime already. Do not forget that the royal siblings are rivals for the throne, and thus all of them are potentially dangerous to Hime."

Hiro cowers under Itachi's impassive gaze, smarting from the criticism.

"Oy, lay off of him already." Riza carelessly remarks, but then leans away from the wall with a frown, while clutching her head with her hands. "Argh, so Hime said she's not the one who killed my brother. But I still don't trust her."

"Um, is it possible that "Hime" isn't her real…."

Getting up, Riza walks away. "If you want to know her real name, then ask her."

Pausing to think to himself, Hiro then turns to Itachi. "Do you know, Itachi-sensei?"

Itachi shakes his head a little, in the negative. It irks him a little that he still does not know Hime's real name, though he does not show it. Hime has refused him outright when he asked. Flandre probably knows, but Itachi has been unsuccessful in his other endeavor of trying to decipher Flandre's speech, limited as it is by only a two syllable sound. He is able to infer certain things based on contextual clues and surrounding circumstances, with the android either nodding or shaking her head. Something like Hime's name, however, cannot be answered so easily with those simple answers.

-O-

"An alliance?" Hime calmly asks, as she gazes upon her younger sister, completely unaware of the curiosity of her warriors standing outside of the room.

Thrusting a finger in the air, her smaller sibling responds. "That's right! An alliance! In this fraternal struggle, the sole survivor gets to claim the throne. The only way we, as the youngest daughters, can hope to survive such a bloody arrangement is through an alliance."

With a lazy smile, Hime leans forward on the table. "Hmph, on the surface it sounds fine. But…are you really content to live peacefully under my patronage? Or are you just pretending to be my ally in an attempt to catch me off guard? Which is it?"

Sherwood responds with a giggle, but no more than that.

"It doesn't really matter. I will just give you my answer. NO. Now leave quickly."

"Onee-sama!" A shocked Sherwood stands up with her hands on the table. "Would you really throw me to the wolves?"

Unimpressed, Hime twirls the end of a strand of her hair, completely unconcerned. "That's a little over the top, Sherwood. Now, I doubt that you came here empty-handed. You are planning something…so why don't you show me why you really came?"

A pause hangs in the air after Hime's response. Outside of the room, Itachi narrows his eyes, and prepares himself. Hiro is still watching intently, not hearing all the words, but still captivated by the scene in the room.

"I'm impressed, Onee-sama." Sherwood responds finally. "But I've already bought myself plenty of time."

Even as she says this, a rumble is felt throughout the mansion, and the two blood warriors outside of the room look around in alarm. Cracks form in the walls and in the floor, as branches burst through, quickly swarming over all in their path.

"This is…a triffid?"

"Very good," Sherwood smirks, while climbing into the arms of her android. The android turns and heads out of the window. "Well then, good bye. Please take care of yourself, Onee-sama."

Hime looks on, seemingly unperturbed after the initial surprise. Itachi bursts into the room, quickly followed by Hiro. "Hime-sama, are you hurt?"

"No," Hime turns around to look at him. "But if this really is a triffid, then we need to get out of the mansion. They won't let anything escape their clutches."

"So it seems," Itachi agrees, as he watches Hiro trying to break out of the grasp of the unwelcome invader. He himself has already brought out his ninjato, and is cutting away any errant branches heading in his direction. "This is probably as good a time as any to test out the modifications I have made for this mansion's defense."

"I sure hope so," Hime drily responds, while picking up an electric saw handed to her by Flandre, seemingly from nowhere. It is always useful to have a spare weapon on hand. "I would prefer not to rebuild this mansion."

"I have no guarantees," Itachi notes, in between quick bursts of speed to cut away the triffid reaching for himself and Hime. "But the condition for the activation of the seal should be reached in any moment now."

"There you guys are," a visibly annoyed Riza bursts into the room. "There's no end to these things!"

And yet, right after she breaks into the room, the triffid around them suddenly breaks into convulsions. While the occupants of the room look on, in a mixture of wonder and disgust, the branches begin to wilt and shrink, even retreating back into the holes they created.

"Is that…?" Riza asks, in an uncertain voice uncharacteristic of her normal self.

"Yes, the very thing I just told you this morning," Itachi answers. It is a good thing, after all, for him to prepare this defense. At least he managed to inform the others of it, before Sherwood's arrival.

"Let's get out of the house. We will see if Sherwood is still around here." Hime commands.

As they walk into the hallway, they see dried husks left behind by the triffid, as well as numerous holes created all over the mansion. As they walk towards the front door, each of them assesses the damages done to the rooms they pass through. The carpet is completely ruined, not to mention all the walls, as well as any paintings, furniture, and other decorations. This is certainly going to take some time to restore. It is a good thing that Hime has access to nearly unlimited funds; they are going to need it to make all the repairs. Vaguely, Hime entertains the idea of replacing the mansion with a castle made of stone; at least that should hold some permanence in the face of these numerous attacks on her property.

When they walk outside, they see Sherwood staring at them, and the mansion, in disbelief. "How? How did you do it? There is no way you could have known about what I prepared."

Hime calmly regards her younger sister, giving no indication that she is in any way upset over the attempt on her life. She brushes her hair away, as a small gust of wind blows across the clearing. "Truthfully, I did not know. But my blood warrior had the foresight to set up a defense around the mansion."

Bewildered, Sherwood turns to look at Hiro. Hiro shakes his head, and turns his head in Itachi's direction. Sherwood follows his gaze, and involuntarily shudders, as she looks at Itachi's eyes. Any thought that she may have had that the man is a vampire is quickly dismissed, as she noted he does not seem to fear facing the sun, even though he dresses like one.

"I figured that you would have already run away. You are more foolish than I had thought, Sherwood." Hime grins, and begins to walk towards her younger sister.

Sherwood backs off closer to her android, a look of uncertainty suddenly appearing on her face since the beginning of this encounter. The initial surprise attack did not work. She desperately looks around the clearing. A look of relief finally appears on her face, as several triffid branches break out of the soil, and reaches for Hime.

"Oh, I haven't given up on my victory yet, Onee-sama!" She defiantly answers.

"Huh?" "What on earth?" "…." "Fuga."

As the others look around them, somewhat surprised at the unexpected turn, a look of understanding crosses Hime's face.

"I see! This hill has been completely infested by the triffid!"

Itachi nods, now understanding why there is still more of the triffid around. But as he had guessed, this will still turn in their favor.

For, in front of everyone else's incredulous eyes—other than the androids, who always look unperturbed—the triffid yet again begin to shrink and wither. The moment of Sherwood's seemingly imminent triumph is completely shattered, and turned into a grandiose failure.

Sherwood looks on, completely confounded, her plans for intimidation shattered. "How? Even if you somehow managed to kill off the triffid inside the mansion, how could you have reached the ones outside, especially since you didn't even know that I already planted the triffid into the very hill?"

"Ah, I don't know all the details, which are too esoteric for me." Hime smiles, and turns to look at Itachi. "You will have to direct your question to him."

Seeing Sherwood's questioning gaze, Itachi decides to indulge her. "I had drawn into the ground a seal surrounding the area around the mansion. Normally it will remain dormant. However, if there is a large living source of energy suddenly around the mansion…." Such as the triffid, which is left unspoken, but the younger royal's eyes widen in understanding. "Then the seal activates, and begins to absorb the life energy of the largest source inside it. Thus, none of us will be harmed, and neither would the androids, who do not possess this living energy."

Taking a pause, Itachi allows the rotations in his Sharingan spin faster, while pinning the offending girl with his gaze. Sherwood gasps, and backpedals into the protective fold of the taller android. The android, in response, places herself in between the shinobi and her charge. Her right arm is raised, and a pebble has been placed in her right hand, with the thumb ready to flick it.

"You have done quite enough, Sherwood-hime. Surrender yourself now."

With a frustrated stomp on the ground, the younger princess yells out the command to her companion. "Francesca, cover our retreat!"

"Wait, you are not getting away so quickly after pulling a stunt like that!" Riza, still angry, quickly runs after the pair. She is not prepared, however, for the high velocity projectile launched by Francesca. With a cry of pain, her advance is brought to a halt.

As Francesca stretches out her arms to block their way, her master quickly runs through the foliage downhill.

-O-

Sherwood desperately runs on, heedless of where she is going, and eventually finds herself at the edge of a precipice. Most of the hill around Hime's mansion has a smooth gradient, but, to her misfortune, this is the only sharp drop on the entire hill.

Looking back, she finds her way back blocked by her pursuers. Francesca is not with them, which can only mean that she got held back by Hime's own android. Hime slowly walks forward, with her arms outstretched.

"Sherwood, my cute little sister," she softly calls out to the younger princess. "Let's form an alliance."

Sherwood's eyes widen in shock. "Wha….?" She looks back, surprised by the turn in events.

"You have no chance against out siblings," Hime answers, bluntly. "I do not know how long we can last, but let us give it a try."

"Oh," Sherwood answers dumbly. "Did you really think I was serious about what I said earlier, Onee-sama?"

"Humph, call it a whim"

Sighing, Sherwood withdraws further, away from Hime's startled figure. "My kind Onee-sama, you still haven't changed." Still taking steps backward, she can hear the pebbles bouncing down the sharp precipice. "What you just said earlier, I give it back to you. Someone like you may hope to achieve the throne," she shakes her head sadly, "but someone so soft can never prevail over our siblings." With that said, Sherwood closes her eyes, and relinquishes her foothold.

"Sherwood!" A shocked Hime cries out after her, but her voice already sound distant in Sherwood's ears. She has already made her peace.

Which is why she is very surprised when a pair of arms suddenly encircles her, causing her eyes to open in alarm. Before her mind can even register what is happening, she finds herself doing cartwheels down the hill, with the other person taking the brunt of the impact.

When she finally comes to a stop, she painfully gets off the ground, thinking out loud to herself. "Ouch, I thought I was done for." Looking down, she sees the younger of Hime's blood warrior, who is bleeding profusely from a head wound. Hearing a vague murmur, Sherwood curiously gets closer to listen.

"The blood," Hiro moans out, "I can't…."

"Such valor," Sherwood blurts out while leaning back, with a blush blooming on her cheeks.

-O-

"Princess Sherwood! Hiro!" Riza calls out from one side to the next, trudging along the pathway down the hill. Some distance away, one of Itachi's clones combs the grounds nearby with his unnatural eyes, also in search of the two youngsters.

"Geez," Riza says in mild irritation, "why do I have to find those brats?"

-O-

"Oh brave one," Sherwood calls out, while extending her bloodied toe forward, "you may drink."

She carefully dips her toe against Hiro's mouth, and allows the blood to drip into his unresponsive mouth.

It takes Hiro but a moment to awaken, and to look up, completely befuddled, as Sherwood repeats the same words that Hime said to him when they first met, demanding lifelong fealty.

Riza and Itachi stand watching some distance away, somewhat disturbed by the sight of the younger Sherwood straddling Hiro, with a bared toe in his mouth, while extolling the virtues of a blood warrior.

-O-

Setting her teacup down, Hime calmly replies to her younger sister. "Yes, I did say we would form an alliance." Lifting up her eyes, she barely registers the now-repaired mansion, built brand new using Sherwood's funds, as reparation. "And I have no intention of backing out, but…," she lets the sentence remain unfinished, while quirking her eyebrows in confusion at the sight in front of her.

"Then there shouldn't be any problems, Onee-sama," Sherwood happily replies, while her arms are wrapped around a confused, and uncomfortable Hiro. Itachi closes his eyes, and mentally shakes his head. Really, just how does Hiro manage to do something so outrageous? While he can understand Hiro leaping after the falling royal, upon hearing the regret in Hime's voice, and can even applaud him for the act of courage, the situation is still aggravating. Even though there is now an alliance, Hiro's allegiance should remain true to only one person.

"But he is my servant!" Hime objects, out of principle.

"Nope, he is my very first blood warrior!" Sherwood proudly proclaim, while maintaining her hold on Hiro. Hiro is unsure what to do, unused as he is to being fought over by, well, by anyone.

Letting a pause hang in the air, Hime elegantly scratches her forehead. "…If you really want him that badly, I guess…."

"H…hime!" A somewhat surprised Hiro looks back in shock at how quickly his life is being decided by his master.

"I look forward to working with you, Onee-sama!" Sherwood happily replies.

-O-

_And now…for an omake, worked on by yours truly and a friend. This is an alternate scene from the morning training session._

"FIVE MINUTES?" yells Hiro. "That's too long. I can do with just two," Hiro smiles. Itachi smiles back. They give each other a thumbs-up and a sparkling smile patented by a man from another world, who happens to like wearing green a lot. Hime looks on, completely dumbfounded. "Um, I'll leave you guys alone," she says, feeling suddenly out of place in this companionship between males. Perhaps she was too hasty in giving her lifeblood to these two, and should have let them stay dead. She does not think a daily dose of this scene is good for her mental health.


End file.
